STRONG LIKE THE SEA

Narrator Emily Woo Zeller transports listeners to the Hawaiian Islands with her laid-back tone and patois. For her 12th birthday, Oahu tween Alexis is given the biggest adventure puzzle yet from her mom, who is a naval intelligence contractor stationed on a submarine at sea. What starts as a way to pass the time becomes a lifeline when communication from the sub abruptly ceases. Zeller portrays a young heroine who is precocious and at ease with friends. But in the stormiest of emotional scenes Zeller captures near-panic. A trauma-induced phobia, anxiety over academic performance, and a chaotic home life provide the emotional center of a middle grade story embroidered with details of Hawaiian culture and nature. S T.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2021]