“Age never matters, these things are about bravery and heart.”
Thirteen-year-old Condi Bloom’s dream is to learn to surf, but her laid-back beach town isn’t what it used to be. Big resort owners are taking over the cove. Worse, someone’s harassing the Beachlings, the mysterious old women living in the cliffs off Windy Hollow, a lonely tower of rock that people say is haunted. When a new surfer boy named Trustin shows up in town and invites Condi to a forbidden surfing spot, she’s swept into an extraordinary underwater adventure, where a surprising encounter with Koan, the Riddlemaster of the Sea, changes her life. Along with Trustin, his quirky twin and a mystical aquamarine surfboard, Condi learns the untold stories of the Beachlings, uncovering the timeless secrets of Windy Hollow.
Ebbing and flowing between reality and magic, times past and present, The Aquamarine Surfboard by Kellye Abernathy is a riveting beach tale about opening up to mystery, building community when and where you can — and discovering the ocean is filled with magic—the really BIG kind—the kind that changes the world.
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Abernathy has written a strange and delightful adventure that combines magic with the discomforts and joys and challenges of coming of age. Exploring friendship, love, death, magic, and supporting those who are most in need, The Aquamarine Surfboard is a welcome read for both younger and older crowds alike.
Prose: Abernathy is excellent at describing magical scenes and windswept beach settings, which are aplenty in this novel. Sometimes the verbiage can be a bit awkward, leading but the majority of the novel is beautifully phrased and well-written.
Originality: The Aquamarine Surfboard is extraordinarily unique in its storytelling. Although it does incorporate some tropes, such as the orphaned child searching for meaning, they work well within the context of the novel.
Character Development/Execution: Abernathy excels at bringing to life sympathetic, dynamic characters. She is highly capable of displaying the awkwardness and fun of teenaged relationships, the love between a grandmother and her grandchild, and the terror of an evil villain. Her characters all feel very different even from first meeting them, and carry with them a distinctness that makes them easy to differentiate.
Date Submitted: April 06, 2022
Abernathy debuts with a tender, richly imagined middle grade novel about a resort town’s tragic past and uncertain future. Eighth grader Condi Bloom lives with her grandmother, Grand Ella, in the gentrifying Pacific beach town of Dipitious Beach following her parents’ drowning death. Condi longs to surf like all the popular kids and frets about how the new, rich residents are calling for the expulsion of the women known as Beachlings who live in caves on the coast. When she thinks Trustin, a recently arrived cute boy, has gone under while surfing, she recklessly plunges after to save him, where he leads her to Koan, the Master of the Sea. Koan charges Condi with saving the town from selfishness and then wipes her memory of her experience. Back on land, Condi, unaware of her mission, copes with fraught peer relationships, helps Grand Ella defend the Beachlings, and grows closer to Trustin and his twin sister Marissa. When nasty weather threatens the town, all the residents are put to the test.Abernathy proves adept at crafting characters, capturing the peculiar blend of self-doubt and conviction of her middle school protagonist. The issue of gentrification appears in age-appropriate ways, with the rich newcomers not being overly vilified. The message of treating outsiders with kindness feels genuine, while moments that humanize the Beachlings, like one’s inspired creation of seashell mosaics, offer arresting context and gravity to the battle over their belonging in town.
The supernatural elements don’t overwhelm the plot, though Condi’s brief stint under the sea feels a touch disorienting, with its full cast and complex mythology. As satisfying as the final revelations are, the combination of ghost story and magical undersea realm can feel like a bit too much. Still, thanks to Condi’s forgetting, the bulk of the story should appeal to readers who prefer realistic fiction. This polished, lightly supernatural tale, its tenacious heroine, and well-handled real-world concerns will connect with teens making the transition from middle grade to young adult.
Takeaway: This small-town maritime novel offers a gripping blend of paranormal happenings, mystery, and realistic efforts to belong.
Great for fans of: Karen Strong’s Just South of Home, Melanie Conklin’s Every Missing Piece.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
