What makes this book so valuable is the following, taken from the Western Australian curriculum.

The range of literary texts for Pre-primary to Year 10 comprises Australian literature, including the oral narrative traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, as well as the contemporary literature of these two cultural groups, and classic and contemporary world literature, including texts from and about Asia.

This book is all about a Torres Straight Islander boy and his life as a Pearl-shell diver.   I think the inclusion of so much history has interfered with the writing, however, it is an informative book which I enjoyed. There is plenty of suspense but the pacing needs work as does the characterization. Also, many problems are not resolved. Does his mother survive? He was working for money but did the cyclone rob him of this?  What happened to his dad? Does he find out what happened to his cousins? Whatever happened to the sea captain who was chasing him?

Still I would recommend this book, especially to teachers to read so as to cover the curriculum, probably for Years 5, 6 and 7.

Also, I recommend the book for children in upper primary and lower secondary school who want to learn about Australian history. It is well researched.