Oliver and the Seawigs is an utterly immersive middle-grade adventure. It reads as a novel, divided into normal-length chapters, but it's enhanced by black, white, and blue illustrations, from small inset illustrations to background images and full two-page spreads. The text and illustrations don't just coexist; they complement each other and are woven together in creative layouts. (On one page, the text zigzags down the white tunnels of a cave; other pages feature speech bubbles.) The result is a book with the text content of a middle-grade novel and the visual appeal of a great picture book. Experienced and reluctant readers alike will enjoy delving into this fun story.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley. ( )

children's illustrated chapter book (grades 2 and up, or younger as a read-aloud)
fun, action packed story about a trio of explorers (human Oliver, mermaid Iris, and wandering island "Cliff"). I thought the illustrations were what really shone here and will be sure to seek out more work from graphic illustrator Sarah McIntyre. ( )

Cute! I didn't think it was as good as [b:Pugs of the Frozen North|25197548|Pugs of the Frozen North|Philip Reeve|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427061550s/25197548.jpg|44908620] but it was still lovely. I really liked the wandering islands and their seawigs. ( )

This was an interesting story for young readers. I didn't find the characters overly interesting. The story plot reminded me a another book I had read in this genre. ( )

While this cannot fully compare to Pugs of the North, it is a good read. I found the plot to be great for kids, but some scenes a bit likely to end you in a long explanation. Human sacrifice, sea monkeys, and the talk of animal skeletons can get iffy with small kids listening before bed. It's not descriptive of these things, but we do get to hear one of the islands has been basically soaking up blood and maybe that's why it took humans. I'd recommend this for parents who can explain things without getting mad at the book for touching on such subjects you don't see coming.

Highly recommend it for preteens to teens though. ( )