This is why I do a reading challenge every year and why I often try to put categories outside my comfort zone on my list. Rarely, if ever, would I seek out a book in verse. In this case, I’m so glad I did! Let’s dive in, no pun intended.

Synopsis

Eliza Marino is a teen who deals with constant threats from external forces. Having survived a hurricane five years previous that threatened to destroy the home on Long Beach Island in New Jersey that she adores, she now spends her days and nights trying to protect it. She fights not just against the ravaging effects of climate change but against the tide of developers who seek to transform the local protected habitats for their own selfish gain. When Eliza meets Milo Harris, the wealthy son of a rich tourist who has come for the summer, she reluctantly agrees to give him surfing lessons despite going against everything he stands for. As the two grow closer over the course of the summer, Eliza finds herself torn between the life she knows she’s meant to live and the boy whose mere presence threatens to destroy it.

Review

As I sometimes do, I glanced through some other reviews upon finishing the book before starting my own review. Obviously, all readers have differences of opinion and view text in certain ways, but I feel a lot of people didn’t really get this book or what it truly symbolizes. Some readers said Eliza wasn’t exactly likeable. Some readers said they didn’t think Hagan’s style was consistent enough. Fair enough, on both points, I suppose. But I’d like to break both those down if I may, because I disagree on both points, especially the latter.

Firstly, let’s take Eliza. She’s a little angsty and hyper-focused on climate change. #1 – she’s a teenager. I don’t think I need to say any more on that point. It speaks for itself. #2 – Five years ago she almost lost her home and her family to the worst disaster that had ever befallen her island. Now she suffers from extreme anxiety and PTSD. She also adores the ocean but must come to terms with the fact that it possesses the dangerous power to wipe out the existence of everything she knows and loves within minutes with one reach of its powerful and all-consuming arm. Let’s just say that her rage and confusion are a bit more complex than that of the average teenager. She has missteps on her quest to save her island, but her intentions are pure and her single-minded passion is quite admirable.

Now let’s move onto style. I absolutely adored what Hagan did with this, and I thought the fluctuations in her style were appropriate for the story. It is a novel in verse, and it does read like a novel. The verse offers the story the kind of ebb and flow that mimics the sea. It could be languid and peaceful, drawing out a scene and reveling in the quietness of the moment, or it could be intense, choppy, and to the point, highlighting the constant danger that lurks beneath the surface of the waves. Maybe some people found this heavy handed, and maybe some people just didn’t get it at all. And maybe I’m making a mistake by inserting my own intent to Hagan’s writing. I have no idea if this was her intent. Either way, I liked it.

Owning to the fact that it is written in verse, this is an exceptionally short read. I managed to read it over the course of just a couple of evenings while on a trip in which I had a myriad of other things to occupy my time. Overall, I give it 4.5 stars.

Published July 19, 2022 by Bloomsbury YA. ISBN 9781547609161. Hardcover. 400 pages.