3 stars
Set five years after a devastating hurricane, this novel-in-verse finds the community of Holgate, New Jersey still picking up the pieces. Follow Eliza as she deals with anxiety after facing the hurricane’s destruction firsthand, simultaneously fights for the preservation of the marshlands, and develops feelings for a wealthy new arrival to her island home who threatens to change her carefully laid plans.
A mix of summer romance and inspiration for young climate change activists. Also tackles some difficult topics including anxiety, PTSD, and social class. Loved the focus on the impact young people can have on the world and the power in people coming together.
The gorgeous cover and emphasis on environmental issues initially pulled me into this one. I usually love novels-in-verse, but the poems in this one fell flat for me. They were often repetitive, belaboring their points. For me, the environmental storyline got lost in the romance and Eliza comes off as fairly flat as well. Her personality never really shone through, which is especially important in first-person verse.
For how drawn out most of the narration was, the ending was quite rushed. Things resolved very quickly without much detail. The twists are fairly predictable and I found it hard to engage with.
I read an ARC so I can’t speak to the entirety of the bonus materials. But the backmatter in the one I read contains an author’s note about Hagan’s own connection to the story and lists further organizations, books, writers, and activists to explore.
Overall, a nice tale about coming together as a community, standing up against overdevelopment, and sharing one’s love of the ocean and natural world.