MMGM and #IMWAYR: Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea!
Hi folks! This post will be very brief, because I'm running short on time this weekend.
Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea
Written by Ashley Herring Blake
Middle grade · 2021
· · · The publisher says: · · ·
A poignant yet hopeful novel about a girl navigating grief, trauma, and friendship, from Ashley Herring Blake, the award-winning author of Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World.
Hazel Bly used to live in the perfect house with the perfect family in sunny California. But when a kayaking trip goes horribly wrong, Mum is suddenly gone forever and Hazel is left with crippling anxiety and a jagged scar on her face. After Mum's death, Hazel, her other mother, Mama, and her little sister, Peach, need a fresh start. So for the last two years, the Bly girls have lived all over the country, never settling anywhere for more than a few months.
When the family arrives in Rose Harbor, Maine, there's a wildness to the small town that feels like magic. But when Mama runs into an old childhood friend—Claire—suddenly Hazel's tight-knit world is infiltrated. To make it worse, she has a daughter Hazel's age, Lemon, who can't stop rambling on and on about the Rose Maid, a local 150-year-old mermaid myth.
Soon, Hazel finds herself just as obsessed with the Rose Maid as Lemon is—because what if magic were real? What if grief really could change you so much, you weren't even yourself anymore? And what if instead you emerged from the darkness stronger than before?
· · · · · ·
I haven't read MG in a long while, and I'm so grateful to Kasey Giard at The Story Sanctuary for having me take the plunge. This story was so beautiful, and it was exactly what I needed lately.
Something that's actually come up during our Kidlit Lovers' Meetups is the idea that MG books about grief can help us process all kinds of painful emotions, not just grief. And I think this book is a shining example of that. Rather than finding Hazel's Mum's death gratuitous or excessively sad, I actually resonated deeply with the kind of pain and self-discovery that Hazel has to go through in this story. It turns out that, even if we've never lost a loved one, the feelings that come with grief aren't as unfamiliar as we might think.
Hazel herself is an incredible protagonist: anxious like me, immensely thoughtful, flawed yet lovable, and ultimately able to grow and change in magnificent ways like we all are. In many ways, Hazel's journey is about choosing between safety—which really only exists when you are alone and isolated—or human connection, with the risks and beauty that entails. I keep thinking about her choice every time I find myself struggling with the same dichotomy.
This book has a methodical attention to small, everyday details that reminds me of Rebecca Stead's writing at least a little, and it is also filled with small-town joy and warmth in the way the best Natalie Lloyd books are. There's summer camps and mermaid myths and blanket forts and first crushes and restaurants with beautiful art on the walls. This is a book you'll be happy to spend time in—I found myself excited every time I could return to it.
And it's not just Hazel who is richly drawn in this story. Characters like Hazel's Mama and her friend Claire have their own complicated histories, shown deftly through Hazel's perspective.
I don't read enough MG to know if lots of MG books are this good, or if this is a shining example of the genre. But I do know this story will live on in my mind for a long time to come.
The Kidlit Lovers' Meetup!
Our NINTH Kidlit Lovers' Meetup is officially scheduled for:
Saturday, February 22
4-5 PM Pacific / 5-6 PM Mountain / 6-7 PM Central / 7-8 PM Eastern
Virtual (via Zoom)
As always, these meetups are a chance for us kidlit book bloggers and readers (and anyone else who wants to join in on the fun) to connect and discuss books, reading, blogging, and more!
Sign up for the meetup mailing list so you can get the Zoom link for this meetup and all future meetups as they are scheduled. (You can also click that link to learn more about the meetup format, if you're curious!) Just FYI, this mailing list is different from my mailing list for receiving blog posts.
Oh my goodness! This book sounds absolutely fantastic!! It's very clear you've found a book you love!!! Now I simply must add this to my TBR!! Thank you so much for this review! My favorite genre to read is middle-grade!! I've published a middle-grade fantasy series, although I feel like it's quite a bit more serious than most middle-grade. Oh well!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reviewing this book!!
Thanks for the wonderful review. I'm so glad Kasey inspired you to take the plunge. And yes, books like this can help us process our painful feelings.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like one my former students could have loved, Max. I had several in my teaching years lose parents, in divorce and in death. They struggled so! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad Kasey steered toward reading this book. MG plots like this one don't often resonate with the extent this story does. Thanks for featuring it as a part of MMGM this week.
ReplyDeleteTeens need a variety of books about how others deal with grief. What a beautiful cover -- it really draws readers to want to open the cover. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds wonderful; I think grief is a tough thing to write about well without making it too much (if that makes sense). Looking forward to our meet up!
ReplyDeleteYou have definitely sold me on this book. I hadn't heard of it, but now I'm eager to read it!
ReplyDeleteMy latest MG Post - The Ghosts of Bitterfly Bay
This does sound very good. I know I've enjoyed Natalie Lloyd's books in the past. Have you read Renee Watson's book All the Blues in the Sky? It's another middle grade that also deals with grief really well.
ReplyDeleteLovely cover and great review. A lot of kids have to deal with grief, and this sounds like a book that handles the subject really (good for adults too!). Great idea to a have an online meetup with other kidlit lovers, the time doesn't suit those of us on my side of the Atlantic, sadly :(. Thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteThe sheer glut of super sad books has been making me more and more polemic against them, but I am in the minority. My students NEVER ask for books like this, and even when I buy them, tend to check them out and return them, disappointed. If you are enjoying sad, ALL THE BLUES IN THE SKY will definitely fill the bill.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading this and it taught me that people deal with grief differently and I wished Hazel was able to feel her grief and anger more.
ReplyDeleteA story set in Maine? With a mermaid? Hmmm - I might need to check this out!
ReplyDeleteI love Maine, so a book set there is a bonus. This sounds really good. I'll look for it.
ReplyDelete