THE LOST WHALE

A young boy discovers both his limits and his power.

Eleven-year-old Rio Turner has lived all his life in London with his American mother. But when his mother’s depression worsens and she has to be hospitalized, Rio is sent to live with his near stranger of a grandmother in California. As the story unfolds in waves of both nuance and perceptively delivered atmosphere—the ocean and California coast are evocatively rendered—Rio, resentful, lonely, and missing his adored mother, deflects his grandmother’s attempts at friendship. But then she gives him a shoe box of his mother’s childhood treasures, and Rio discovers drawing after drawing of whales. One drawing, titled White Beak, stands out for how lifelike it is, and Rio keeps it close in his pocket. Then, while walking the beach, Rio meets Marina, a girl about his age who lives on a whale-watching boat. Marina tells him that White Beak is an actual whale, and she invites Rio to come on a whale-watching trip, where he glimpses the actual White Beak on her migratory route to Mexico. Rio is entranced, and as he learns more about the magnificent creatures, including their plight as a result of human carelessness, he determines to help however he can. And then White Beak goes missing. This superb story captures the power and mystery of the ocean as well as delivering bite-size morsels of climate change advocacy. Characters read as White default.

Poignant and empowering.