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How to Make Friends with the Sea

By Tanya Guerrero
0.0 (0 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
How to Make Friends with the Sea follows twelve-year-old Pablo who is struggling with homesickness after moving around the world with his mother, a zoologist caring for abused animals. Now in the Philippines, Pablo and his mother take in an orphaned child, Chiqui, who has an unrepaired cleft lip. As Pablo supports Chiqui, he also confronts his deep fear of the sea and his anxiety, learning about identity, friendship, family, and courage along the way.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$1999

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

How to Make Friends with the Sea is perfect for middle grade readers interested in stories about emotional growth, family, and friendship. It particularly suits children navigating issues of identity, mental health, and belonging, as well as fans of heartfelt and thoughtful contemporary fiction.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

An #ownvoices debut novel set in the Philippines about twelve-year-old Pablo’s challenges with anxiety while his mother fosters an orphaned child with a facial anomaly.

An #ownvoices middle grade debut novel set in the Philippines about twelve-year-old Pablo's challenges with anxiety while his mother fosters an orphaned child with a facial anomaly.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Twelve-year-old Pablo is homesick.

Ever since his father left, his mother, a zoologist who helps rehabilitate abused animals, has moved them from one side of the world to the other. Now they are residing in the Philippines, and his mother is tasked with caring for an orphaned child, Chiqui, who has an unrepaired cleft lip.

As he and his mother adjust to having Chiqui in their lives, Pablo must face his ever-increasing anxiety. But, as it turns out, in his efforts to help Chiqui, he learns a thing or two from her as well, even finding the courage to confront his lifelong and deep-seated fear of the sea.

This very special middle grade debut, How to Make Friends with the Sea, addresses issues of identity, mental health, appearance, friendship, and family.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

"Guerrero touches on many topics--anxiety, fostering, friendship, family, selective mutism, and more--seamlessly weaving them all together to create a strong, moving narrative. A heartbreaking, heartwarming, powerful debut novel." — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
"A story for anyone who's ever asked where--and what--home is." — Jack Cheng, author of See You in the Cosmos
"How to Make Friends with the Sea is a heartwarming story about family, friendship, identity and finding courage within our own hearts. I know readers will have as much fun cheering for Pablo as I did." — Dan Gemeinhart, author of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
"Touching and sweet, Tanya Guerrero's debut is a multi-layered story with heaps of heart. Readers will root for Pablo as he finds his courage, voice, and family on this journey to self-acceptance." — Elly Swartz, author of Finding Perfect and Give and Take

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781250763273

Publisher: St Martin's Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 March 2021

Country: United States

Imprint: St Martin's Press

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 132.0mm

Height: 194.0mm

Weight: 316g

Pages: 384

Collections

Children's Books Children’s, Teenage and Educational Tanya Guerrero Young Adult

About the Author

A Martial Law baby born at the height of the Marcos regime in the Philippines, Tanya Guerrero spent her childhood in Manila, Barcelona, and La Masia. She currently lives in the suburbs of Manila with her husband, daughter, and a menagerie of rescued cats and dogs. How to Make Friends with the Sea is her debut novel. Learn more about Tanya at tanyaguerrero.com.

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