First published 2002
Michaela has never known life away from the ocean. At twelve, she breathes salt air and feels the waves in her bones. Her coastal world revolves around her older brother Red. They fish together on the Daisy Moon, cruise the shoreline with his girlfriend Mona, and dive from weathered piers with his friend Mark. The rhythm of their days feels permanent until Red vanishes without warning. One moment he fills her world, the next he simply does not exist. Michaela faces the impossible task of rebuilding her life when half of it has disappeared. She must decide whether to let his absence destroy everything they shared or find a way to carry their bond forward. Angela Johnson crafts a story about loss that refuses easy answers, following one girl as she learns that love persists even when the person does not.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, grief
Setting: Daisy Moon, Ocean
128 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing