The Highest Tide
Ratings4
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings4
Average rating3.5
A stunning coming-of-age novel about one boy's mystical bond to the sea. "[A] graceful and inventive first novel." -The New York Times Book Review "The fertile strangeness of marine tidal life becomes a subtly executed metaphor for the bewilderments of adolescence in this tender and authentic coming-of-age novel." -Publishers Weekly "As crisp and clean as a cool dip into the water, and just about as refreshing." -Entertainment Weekly "Move over, Holden Caulfield; here's Miles. . . . An uncommon and uncommonly good coming-of-age novel." -Chicago Tribune One moonlit night, thirteen-year-old Miles O'Malley sneaks out of his house and goes exploring on the tidal flats of Puget Sound. When he discovers a rare giant squid, he instantly becomes a local phenomenon. But Miles is really just a kid on the verge of growing up, infatuated with the girl next door, worried that his parents will divorce and fearful that everything, even the bay he loves, is shifting away from him.
Reviews with the most likes.
Lovely prose about living along the shore! However, for me, this was more of a 3.5 because I wasn't really rooting for any of the characters.
Let me clarify! This book is set on Puget Sound, where I also grew up. I think it is absolutely wonderful how it captures the natural environment there, and I loved that. But I was too invested in the setting. The characters do feel real, and very flawed, and . . . that's about it. In part because of my own baggage, I was constantly holding them all at arm's length. It was one of those books where I felt for the main character but mostly was disappointed by their choices–and that's understandable since the main character is so young–but it wasn't the narrative I was hoping for. That's partly my own fault though, so I've tried not to fault the book too much. :)
I do think this would be a good read for people who like meditative coming-of-age stories and learning about life along the shore!
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