When Cara's mother disappeared at the beginning of summer, everyone just assumed that she left her husband and children and will show up somewhere. Everyone except the family that is - the 13-years old Cara and her brothers - 10 years old Jax and 16 years old Max and their father. Living in Cape Cod means that the siblings are used to being near the water a lot and when we meet them, the tourist season is winding down and they are preparing for the school year. Their Mom had not been heard of.

And then Cara starts seeing and hearing things - messages on pieces of drifting wood, voices from places where there should be no voices. They seem to hint at her being needed to help her own mother so she and her brothers decide to follow the instructions and end up having an adventure taking them all the way to the bottom of the ocean.

It is clear from early on that the mother and the younger brother are not exactly human - it takes awhile for the book to hint at it strongly enough to get a reader to acknowledge it but the hints are there from early on. But beneath the quest and the fantasy story, there is a more serious story about climate change and the pollution of the oceans and about what matters in life. Add the scenery of Cape Cod and the novel works in ways one would not expect. Plus there is a creepy monster of course - connected to the water and just creepy enough to make him memorable.

It is a first novel in a trilogy so the action itself feels unfinished. We never get the complete story about the mother or why she disappeared. We get some of it but at the end, the novel is almost where it started - except that we have a confirmation that the mother is alive and we got to read about an adventure. The novel just does not stand on its own - it needs the rest of the series to feel complete.

I did not expect much depth from the characters or too much development (being a middle grade novel and a first in a trilogy) but even with the low expectations, it almost felt like it was too thin. Part of it is probably because we get the story from Cara - she can be unreliable narrator and occasionally things would make sense if you remember that we are listening to the story told by a 13 years old girl. But even with that, outside of the Pouring Man (or creepy guy), everyone feels almost 2-dimensional - even the brothers despite the plethora of details.

I am not sure that I cared enough at the end to continue with the series - as much as the book kept my interest, the ending can remain open for me and I won't wonder what really happened. ( )

I received this book in a First Reads giveaway...

I found this novel to be a suspenseful, fun read for a YA audience. I enjoyed the environmental twists, and although it took a bit of imagination to believe in some of the characters, that's why it's fiction! I enjoyed Cara's little brother's abilities just like I enjoyed the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. Neither is realistically possible, but that's the point. It's a story. I will be looking forward to picking up the next one! ( )

:)I really liked it! I'm so happy I chose it for our first independent
reading.. :) ( )

How in the world did this even get published, much less make a Kirkus best of list? The author can't even keep track of what the main character has on her feet between two paragraphs! Giving up on page 32. ( )

I kept putting off reading this book because it was a children's book and I wanted to read something else more. Well that was a mistake! I really enjoyed this book so much. The plot was engaging and kept me wanting more. This book was a great read. ( )