Friday's Harbor: A Novel
3.5/5
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About this ebook
The heartwarming and provocative sequel to Diane Hammond's Hannah's Dream, Friday's Harbor is the compelling story of a dying orca, the caring zoo that saves him, and the controversy that threatens his captivity.
It's been three years since Hannah, the elephant, departed the Max L. Biedelman Zoo, in Bladenham, Washington, and much has changed, including the appointment of new executive director Truman Levy, and the arrival of a failing killer whale named Friday.
With the help of marine mammal rehabilitator Gabriel Jump, and a team of dedicated though inexperienced keepers, Friday begins to recover. But not everyone believes he should be in captivity—a debate that explodes onto a national stage. Now, Friday's fate may no longer rest in the hands of Truman and the caring staff at the Max L. Biedelman Zoo.
Like The Art of Racing in the Rain and Like Water for Elephants, Friday's Harbor beautifully illuminates the special bond between animals and humans.
Diane Hammond
Diane Hammond is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Seeing Stars, Hannah's Dream, Going to Bend, and Homesick Creek. She served as a spokesperson for the Free Willy Keiko Foundation and the Oregon Coast Aquarium and currently lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her husband and their three Pembroke Welsh corgis.
Read more from Diane Hammond
Hannah's Dream: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seeing Stars: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Friday's Harbor
45 ratings14 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I thought this was a pretty sweet book. It was really interesting and all of the characters were really likable, especially Friday.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5As an animal lover, I could empathize with the sorrow of the necessity of keeping Friday in captivity. The book was a fun read, though didn't go really deep (pun intended).
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Friday is a killer whale that the Biedelman Zoo rescues from a bad situation in Columbia. We learn a lot about the care and treatment of killer whales in captivity. There are many things to consider when caring for a whale. I thought that the book was very educational about the time and effort that goes into maintaining a mammal this large. How does a small town zoo adapt to the fame of a killer whale?I enjoyed this book and it’s quirky cast of characters. The zoo and the public are pitted against each other by the involvement of the media. The animal activists start to cause problems for the zoo. They feel that Friday should be released back into the wild. What will happen to Friday? Will he thrive in captivity? Will he die of loneliness? Would he be able to survive in the wild after so many years in captivity? Read the book and you will find out what happens.A short easy to read, an interesting animal story. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is the a fictional story about a killer whale in captivity. While it had some good parts, I don’t think this was the book for me. My mind kept wandering and I just wanted to hurry up and finish it. That’s not to say that it’s poorly written, and there isn’t anything I can really put my finger on that I can say was wrong with it. It just didn’t hold my attention for long periods. On the positive side, I really did like the whale.I received an Early Reviewer’s copy of this book through Library Thing in exchange for a review.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Friday is a whale that is slowly dying in a theme park in Columbia when supporters of the Max L. Beidelman Zoo rescue him and begin is rehabilitation. As Friday gets better, they zoo becomes popular and begins to bring in much needed funds. But there is more going on with animal activists that believe he shouldn’t stay at the zoo.This novel is a sequel to the author’s book Hannah’s Dream but one doesn’t need to read that book before beginning this one. I haven’t read it and followed along with no problems. Did I like the story? I was good but not outstanding. The characters are quirky and likeable; but the story unremarkable. A quick and easy read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Friday's Harbor, a killer whale in Bogota, Colombia is slowly wasting away in poorly maintained and inadequate facilities. Known as "Viernes" the whale had been kept in captivity for years, one of the most beloved inhabitants in the local marine park. The years have taken their toll and Viernes suffers with infections from a poor diet and the poor facilities until Ivy, a wealthy American visitor, decides to intervene. The heiress works her magic, reaches out to the new head of the Max L. Biedelman Zoo in Bladenham, Washington, and offers to pay the costs of relocation and subsidize Viernes's care if the zoo agrees to take him in.The change is effected and Viernes is renamed Friday and is moved into the never used porpoise pool. The zoo hires marine mammal expert Gabriel Jump, and takes on as a volunteer Libertine, animal psychic with ties to radical animal rights groups. The new head of the zoo, Truman, discovers that killer whales draw the public's imagination and attention.Friday's arrival brings record numbers of visitors to the zoo. Friday seems to connect with his many visitors on a visceral level. Children, the elderly, even the sick seem to calm and communicate with Friday. But along with the affection of thousands of visitors, Friday's presence draws controversy to the zoo as activists petition for the whale's release. We read about the day to day operations of the zoo and the unending labor involved in caring for a killer whale. Though Friday's Harbor is a work of fiction, it addresses difficult issues regarding captivity and treatment of endangered animals with sensitivity and humor. It's been years since I'd seen a killer whale but reading Friday's Harbor brought back my fascination with these awe inspiring creatures and a deeper appreciation of the complexity of the issues that accompany keeping animals healthy, both in captivity and in the wild.ISBN-10: 0062124218 - Paperback $8.99Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (October 8, 2013), 352 pages.Review copy courtesy of the publisher.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/520. [Friday's Harbor] - Diane HammondThe book is about a mammal, but it's filled with fish - red herrings. I hope it was intentional and not just branches of the story being clipped and forgotten, but there were a few spots where something seemingly substantial was brought up and then never brought up again - or brought up again, but not developed further. I don't want to go into details because I suppose it would be a spoiler, but needless to say, if you do decide to read the story, you'll see.Anyway, the characters didn't have much depth to them and frankly, the horribly inept reporter's representation was so far over the top, it just made me angry. Another part that was annoying - that the one character came from "Orca Island" yet NO ONE mentions the coincidence? I think there was another name that was an obvious tie-in too...maybe there was an actual "Friday Harbor" mentioned...I'm not interested enough to check to verify.The parts about the book's namesake were alright, but overall, although I enjoyed the story just enough, I wouldn't really recommend it beyond a summer beach read level.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I truly enjoyed this novel! I love reading about animal rescues. Although it's fiction, it could very well be real. Would like to also read Hannah's Dream.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Friday is a killer whale, captured as a yearling, who has spent most of his nineteen years living in substandard conditions at a water park in Columbia. As the book opens, Friday is rescued by a small zoo in Washington state. The remainder of the book focuses on the people working with him at the zoo.I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my review. If I did not feel that it is unfair to review a book without reading the entire work, I would not have finished reading it. I have read a number of uncorrected proofs in the past, but I have never encountered one with so many errors and inconsistencies. I expect that the flagrant errors will be caught before the final publication, but am doubtful that the myriad inconsistencies will be fixed. For example, early in the book, a character states that the day of the week is Friday, but then twice within the following 7 pages, other characters make it clear that the same day is not Friday. With such noticeable inconsistencies scattered throughout the entirety of the book, it is difficult for me to believe that the killer whale information is reliable or accurate.The book also jumps around from character to character. The author doesn't focus on a single character's storyline (not even the whale's). As a result, none of the characters or storylines are well-developed.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Friday's Harbor is a sequel to [Hannah's Dream]. [Hannah's Dream] is a charming, funny, and poignant story about a small zoo and a lonely elephant. It is one of my favorite books ever.In Friday's Harbor, an orca (Friday) is rescued from a bad situation in a Columbian zoo and brought to the Max L Biedelman zoo. Friday's story is as appealing as Hannah's was.The quirky main characters of Hannah's Dream take a back seat in this sequel, as newly introduced characters are featured. I love the main characters of Hannah's Dream, but not the main characters of Friday's Harbor. Still, Friday and his story are appealing enough that I like the book anyway.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disclaimer: In exchange for a review, I received a free copy of Friday's Harbor. All opinions are my own.In some ways, this book reads like a combination of the movies Free Willy and We Bought a Zoo. The plot is not particularly original and main characters, like Truman, Neva, and Gabriel, don't seem to have much depth. However, other characters are compelling enough to make you keep reading. I was intrigued to find out whether Libertine would change her views on Friday's captivity and whether Ivy and Julio Iglesias would ever have a healthy relationship. I especially became attached to Friday and his growth throughout the story.I think the book brings attention to issues that are not always discussed when animal captivity appears in the news; the story line with the anti-captivity activists helped shed light on the struggles those working with captive animals really deal with.One issue I had with the book was the way character nonchalantly let the little dog, Julio Iglesias, run around the pool deck and one of the characters went so far to say that he wasn't a fish, so the whale wouldn't show interest in him. However, early in the novel, Hammond noted that the whale was curious about the dog and in real life orcas do eat penguins and seals (which look about as much like fish as a small dog does), so it just seemed irresponsible to point out that there was no chance Friday might eat the dog, especially considering that Hammond has worked with orcas in the past.The book was an entertaining read, though, and hard to put down. I didn't realize it was a sequel to Hannah's Dream and I look forward to going back and reading that book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Received this as an Early Reviewer copy. I really enjoyed this book and did read it straight through. Wonderful characters, great story, I just loved this book!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Friday's Harbor is about a whale on the verge of death living on Bogotá, Columbia. No marine rescue group will help the whale named Viernes, or Friday in English, except a small zoo no one has heard of. So with the help of some special people Friday's rescue begins. But this isn't just a story about a whale rescue, it's about the connections that happen around Friday. I didn't get the title until the very end and then said - of course. I received an uncorrected proof of Friday's Harbor from LibraryThing and was so glad I did, I might not have found this author. Can't wait to go out and by her previous books.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A wonderful little story about saving an Orca from a bad situation. While the whale is the vehicle, this story is really more about relationships. And, I loved all the relationships in this story, those between the people as well as those between people and animals. Hammond revisits the Washington State zoo she introduced in [Hannah's Dream], but it isn't necessary to read that one to enjoy Friday's Harbor.