AJ AND THE INCREDIBLE FISH

A tween boy joins his kooky grandfather hunting a legendary gargantuan fish in Mazzucato’s middle-grade fantasy.

AJ, who lives in Maui, knows his maternal grandpa isn’t “all there.” The testy 11-year-old grumbles when his flight attendant mother drops him off for the weekend at her father’s docked boat. Things get weird in no time; Grandpa suddenly sets sail that night, determined to find Old Gussie, the “dragon of the deep” he sought decades ago. (Back then, he lost both his ship and shipmates Riley and Marlin.) Before AJ and Grandpa leave the dock, the reputedly crazy Livvy (who, unlike the same-aged AJ, doesn’t go to school) hops onboard. Their first stop is at a bewildering coastal town in which AJ spots a mermaid and an elf, among other things. Grandpa is looking for Riley and Marlin, convinced he needs them; however, bringing them along entails busting at least one of them out of prison. If this makeshift crew even manages to glimpse the “great fish,” how exactly do they plan to catch it? Mazzucato layers this tale with abundant humor, as when AJ and his schoolmates use teamwork to prank their teacher. Grandpa is endearingly eccentric, deeming anything he disagrees with as “nonsense” and constantly introducing AJ as a “young scallywag.” AJ, Grandpa, and Livvy fall into various misadventures, from retrieving the well-hidden Riley and Marlin to confrontations with a band of pirates and storms at sea. All the while, the author skillfully blends outlandish imagery and unexpected details—a handful of characters breaking out into song, complete with lyrics. Readers hoping for scenes of intense searching for a monstrous fish may be disappointed, though the story does feature myriad creatures (many of which appear harmless). The black-and-white illustrations, which combine stock images and AI generation, resemble collages, lending the pictures an oddness that befits a delightfully bizarre narrative.

Indelible characters steer this otherworldly and enthusiastically absurd quest.