WAVE

First-generation Persian American Ava is looking forward to spending the summer before ninth grade surfing and hanging out with her friends.

These hopes are dashed when her single mother, a surgeon at the local hospital, signs her up to volunteer there, hoping this will inspire Ava to follow in her footsteps. In 1980s Southern California, Ava struggles with being a part of two cultures while feeling like an outsider in both. These feelings are compounded by her father’s absence and her OCD. Music, surfing, and her friendship with neighbor Phoenix, a boy who is cued as White, provide a sense of belonging. When Phoenix’s cancer comes back, Ava’s left feeling adrift. Processing her feelings through music empowers Ava and gives her a new understanding of home and the connections she shares with others. Raw and powerful, this free verse novel honestly explores issues of identity, culture, grief, and hope. Ava’s straightforward narration is sparse yet still manages to convey a lyrical sensibility: “I forget my body. / I forget the dread. / I forget the sweat. / I forget / who I have been and who left. / I only feel now o’clock. / Each note’s a stitch. / I’m a cut, getting mended.”Ava’s journey is full of swells and surges, but like a true surfer, she realizes the joy is in taking the ride. Delicate, precise spot art enhances the text.

Rich, layered, and heart-rending.