by Rosanne Parry
Random House, 2016. Fiction. 294 p.
Kai is in school when the earthquake hits. He knows what he is supposed to do. Stay put. But he also knows what will follow the quake so he runs toward the harbor to rescue his grandparents. The three make it to a place where they think they will be safe, but they are not. The water keeps rising, and when Kai's grandfather tells him to run, he does. But they can't follow. Kai's parents both work at a nuclear reactor damaged by the quake and tsunami, so they send him to his aunt and uncle's home in Oregon though he is desperate to stay to help. In Astoria, Kai meets his cousins: Jet and Oliver. Jet has made a recent mistake of her own, not checking the tide tables before taking her sailboat out, endangering herself and her brother and damaging the boat. So much for her dream of becoming a harbor pilot when she grows up. During the summer, Kai and Jet try to be friends but have a lot of cultural differences to overcome, which they manage to do when they start sailing together and enter a race they both hope to win as a sort of redemption. Parry's book is not well-served by its cover, which suggests her story will be a frothy and funny affair. The narrative is actually thoughtful and engaging, telling the stories of two fine young people who want to do well in the world and to be a blessing to their families and others.
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