The Highest Tide

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!