KAYA OF THE OCEAN
by Gloria L. Huang
Holiday House
Middle Grade Magical Realism
256 pages
ages 8 to 12
COMING...
JANUARY 7th!!!
Anxious thirteen-year-old Kaya has always been afraid of everything—but when she learns she is the descendant of a Chinese water goddess, she’ll have to master herself to master her powers!
On the surface, thirteen-year-old Kaya leads a charmed life. She lives in beautiful, beachy Lihiwai. She has ride-or-die best friends. She’s ultrasmart and killing it at school. She even works with a super-cute boy at her parents’ restaurant.
But she also has anxiety—serious anxiety, the kind that makes you scratch and pick—and she’s always had bad luck around the ocean. It’s hard to enjoy Hawaiian beaches when you’ve almost drowned more than once.
But as stranger and stranger things happen to Kaya around the sea, she realizes that—wanted or not—she has a special connection to it. Waves rise when she’s angry. Surf smooths when she’s calm. Fish come when she calls them. And when she learns the truth about her family and her divine ancestor, Mazu, she knows that she will need to connect with her most difficult emotions ASAP—or her potent powers may become dangerous to the people she loves.
Kaya of the Ocean is an exciting, fresh, and beautiful middle-grade fantasy about embracing who you really are. This heartfelt adventure of sun, surf, and sand touches on mental health, the immigrant experience, and the complexities of growing up.
On the surface, thirteen-year-old Kaya leads a charmed life. She lives in beautiful, beachy Lihiwai. She has ride-or-die best friends. She’s ultrasmart and killing it at school. She even works with a super-cute boy at her parents’ restaurant.
But she also has anxiety—serious anxiety, the kind that makes you scratch and pick—and she’s always had bad luck around the ocean. It’s hard to enjoy Hawaiian beaches when you’ve almost drowned more than once.
But as stranger and stranger things happen to Kaya around the sea, she realizes that—wanted or not—she has a special connection to it. Waves rise when she’s angry. Surf smooths when she’s calm. Fish come when she calls them. And when she learns the truth about her family and her divine ancestor, Mazu, she knows that she will need to connect with her most difficult emotions ASAP—or her potent powers may become dangerous to the people she loves.
Kaya of the Ocean is an exciting, fresh, and beautiful middle-grade fantasy about embracing who you really are. This heartfelt adventure of sun, surf, and sand touches on mental health, the immigrant experience, and the complexities of growing up.
MY TIDBITS
Whispers of legends and magic glide into problems of anxiety, family and friends in an engaging read.
Kaya lives in Hawaii and enjoys hanging around her friends, but mostly reading her books. Not only does it help her breeze through school, but reading offers her an excuse to avoid the water. Because nothing scares her like water, which really doesn't work when a person lives in Hawaii. But her fear has a reason. The ocean calls to her and seems to want her drag her into it. When her friends finally are able to coax her to try surfing, she decides it's time to overcome her fear. The result isn't exactly what she expected.
The description I just gave doesn't actually do this book justice, but only is the beginning of a multi-layered read. Kaya has a lot to deal with. She suffers from anxiety not only due to her fear of water, but her parents seem to offer little support as they are seldom there due to the restaurant they run. While Kaya does her best to help out with the business and manages to hold great grades at school, she still suffers as she often finds herself coming home to an empty house. This, unfortunately, doesn't help her anxiety issues. Add the usual hurdles friends and classmates bring as well as family struggles, and there is quite a bit of junior high drama.
The magic adds a touch of fantasy like a light sweetness to the tween drama. Kaya's family are descendants of a divine woman named Mazu, a secret which her aunt keeps from her until a Kaya almost kills someone with her powers. This holding back of information hit a bit odd, but opens up the door for discovery as Kaya learns more about her family and herself. The various, magic-wielding ancestors in her family are woven in with glimpses into history, which added a nice dimension to the tale. While there is magic, it is kept fairly light, and Kaya doesn't use it more than a few times...which was a bit light but does keep it from heading too deep into fantasy.
Add the inviting setting in Hawaii as well as a few cultural nods, and these pages hold quite a few various aspects. While magic fans might wish for more fantastical moments, those who enjoy tween problems surrounding family, friends, and finding a space for ones self are sure to enjoy the mix.
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