The Great Wide Sea is a journey for the characters and the reader! The teen angst of the main character (Ben) and his first person account is marked with great description throughout. An example: "This was just a flat little island scattered with a collection of ragged buildings and old docks limping into the water." Morally, family conquers all, and the foreshadowing is really well done. However, this novel appears to have some scary teacher resources available for "old school" novel study purposes, complete with vocabulary handouts, etc. I believe it would be a suitable read for anyone who has experienced tragedy or loss of a loved one, or someone who wants to sail the ocean from a virtual perspective.