X Marks The Spot - Joan de Hamel

Published by Puffin Books: Auckland, NZ, 1976 (1973).

This is another book that I had never heard of before I picked it up from the English Department library to see if it would work as a Year 9 text. Having now read it, I'm unconvinced that it would be a good novel study, but it definitely would be helpful for a different reason.

X Marks the Spot is the story of three siblings, Lou(ise), Peter and Ross, who are stranded in Fiordland when the chopper their uncle, Cop, is piloting crashes, injuring him in the process. Cop is captured by the mysterious villains of the book, but not before he gives his niece and nephews instructions on where to look for the equally mysterious X. Who or what X is remains unrevealed to the kids for the majority of the book, but really the search for X is not what the book is about.

Because X Marks the Spot is far more interested in describing New Zealand flora and fauna, along with giving numerous survival tips for someone lost in New Zealand bush. The children each have their own areas of expertise, and as a result are far more equipped to survive in the wilderness than I would be if I were in their situation. If I was lost in the bush I feel like having this book with me would increase my chance of survival, as the children discuss what things are edible and what are not, take time building bivouacs and eel traps, and even provide reasons why certain knots are better in particular scenarios than others!

I don't think the story is amazingly well written - Elise and I both figured out the central mystery before the children did (ha ha! Take that, fictional children!) - but as a guide to survival, it was interesting, and the plot did pick up in the second half of the book enough to hold our interests.

Maybe worth checking out, but just not as much for the story.

Completed with Elise, 27 December 2020.



(Elise Books)

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