SPLATT

In Groenewald’s fantasy novel, a droplet at the bottom of the sea is determined to see the wider world, no matter what it takes.

Jonathan Drop is a curious and rebellious young drop of water living in Sea Drop Village, located on the ocean floor, where everything is gray. At school, he learns about the various rules and mythologies that govern his society, but Jonathan refuses to conform. He wears a “funky, gelled hairstyle,” insists on being called “Splatt,” and doesn’t blindly believe everything he’s told. After venturing into the open ocean to retrieve ink from an Ink Fish and meet a red drop—something he was told was impossible—Splatt becomes preoccupied with finding more colors in the fabled Colorland. Just as he and his girlfriend, Lara, are about to set out on their adventure, under the cover of night, they get separated by strong currents. Splatt comes face-to-face with dark truths of the open ocean, including a war being fought by armies of different-colored Drops. Lara, meanwhile, finds herself stuck with a cultlike group. In order to reunite in Colorland, the two Drops will have to form their own opinions about the world for the first time and follow the red drop’s advice to let go “of the way [they] know.” Groenewald’s story is presented in a manner that features elements of a screenplay format, which lends itself well to the overall animated-family-film feel. Splatt’s journey is reminiscent of those taken by Pinocchio or Z from the film Antz (1998), with cute descriptions of anthropomorphized water drops sitting side-by-side thinly veiled representations of troubling, complex ideas—including, in this case, racism and addiction. Some of the secondary characters’ ideas are uncomfortable (“we just don’t mix with them”), but the story takes a firm stand against them. Throughout their undersea adventure, Splatt and Lara urge other drops to broaden their horizons and resist hate, offering a good lesson for readers of all ages.

An inspiring tale of a troubled underwater world with clear metaphors for real-world divisions.