[Book Review] Inti Samudera (The Core of The Ocean) by Amy Djafar

Book Title: Inti Samudera (The Core of the Ocean) | Author: Amy Djafar | Publisher: Orbit| Book Thickness: 135 pp. | Published Year: 2020 | ISBN: 978-623-7632-85-6

Storyline
This is the second book by Amy Djafar that I have read. After the previous novel, which was the first novel, made me fall in love with the figure of Elang Gadisha, now I have fallen in love with the name of the main character in Inti Samudera (The Core of the Ocean).

Raising a similar theme, but different types, Inti Samudera (The Core of the Ocean) gives us a little knowledge about marine ecosystems and their peculiarities. If in the first book we were presented with knowledge about how to keep forests sustainable, this time the sea is a visible and invisible target for those of us who live far from the sea.

Tells the story of Oxan, whose full name is Zooxanthellae, a woman who is very curious about something called the ocean core and wants to solve the puzzle. He loves the sea as his father who is a marine and coral reef activist. That's how it is called Zooxanthellae which is the same as the name of the marine life that guards coral reefs.

In this book, we are taken on an adventure not only about how easily coral reefs are damaged, the greed of humans who like to destroy marine life, mangrove debt, and their indifference for the future of the sea itself. However, we are brought slowly to explore what exactly is meant by the oceanic core as in the title of this book.

She only learned about Inti Samudera (the core of the Ocean) from the journal records belonging to Oxan's father, I don't know what Oxan was thinking until he was so curious to find out about it. In fact, the conflicts that are mixed in this book still don't touch my heart, because it feels like Oxan's character is not explored, even his background just because he reads these journals.

I think not all children will like and be curious about what his father is doing, especially in this book it is told that his mother strictly forbids Oxan to come into contact with the sea.

A Little Bit of Spoiler
Everything is answered at the end, but I feel there is still something missing. Even though I hope there is more explanation regarding the Ocean Core found by Oxan or what shape it was found at, at what depth, and why is it actually called the Ocean Core?

Also, a fragment of the romance between Oxan-Gilang which looks unnatural or maybe too rushed, Gilang's background is forced to become a black seller of coral reefs. It seems that this point can be extracted even more, including Oxan who can dive in a short time and immediately jumps in on his second try.

This is a subjective opinion that feels that Inti Samudera can be explored more because I am still curious and there are still many details that need to be explained again in this book. A book with 135 pages does not seem to explain everything. However, good job to Ms. Amy for successfully publishing her second book and raising a theme that many people may not think about.

Inti Samudera is a great idea, but still with flaws here and there. Also the shallowness of the story details. If my suggestion might be added with a story about Oxan's diving phase, the secret island that doesn't exist, and details about the Ocean Core. I think it would be a cool story to add to the knowledge related to coral reefs and the world of diving if these points were added.

But yeah, that's just a suggestion. Overall I enjoyed it with a lot of notes. One more thing, accidental meetings, such as Nilam-Jono-Oxan-Gilang also feel too forced. Duh, maybe it's because I don't read much or watch too much drama so I want to be a perfectionist. It's okay, this is just the will of the reader.

I hope that Amy can publish a new book with a better environmental theme. That's enough from me. I still recommend this book for those who want to know what The Core of The Ocean is. I love the cover!

Finally, happy reading!

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