  | Wave Author: Farid, Diana | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
When her best friend's cancer returns in the summer of 1987, none of her usual pursuits--surfing, singing, or reading poetry--can keep thirteen-year-old Ava afloat.
| Illustrator: | Goto, Kris |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG+ Reading Level: 3.70 Points: 3.0 Quiz: 516395 |
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 01/01/2022 Gr 5 Up—Ava's eighth grade year goes with the tumble of the waves she loves to surf as the young Persian girl battles the weight of her mother's expectations against her love for music and her best friend, Phoenix. When Phoenix's cancer comes back, Ava's grief takes over as they fight against the odds and for every moment with each other. Farid's poetry rides the page like a wave, charting the ups and downs of Ava's emotions. Small, thoughtful illustrations are peppered throughout—a beating heart, a wave, a mixtape—further making this tale feel fully devoted to Ava's consciousness. The verse format makes this text extremely accessible, and readers will be delighted to find elements of Ava's Persian heritage and 1980s childhood also woven throughout. VERDICT A lyrical novel in verse bearing the weight of childhood cancer and loss, but also with the lift of coming into one's own as an early teen and finding the right wave to ride. A solid addition to middle school libraries; encourage older readers to take a chance on it, as well.—Aryssa Damron - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 03/01/2022 Thirteen-year-old Ava always feels caught in between. The Persian American girl struggles with her OCD and has trouble fitting in with either of her identities as she grows up in sunny 1980s California, but she finds confidence in surfing and in Phoenix, the boy teaching her. Through a free-verse narration, accompanied by Goto's woodblock-style illustrations, Ava comes into her own as Phoenix's lymphoma returns and Ava navigates the possibility of life without him. Farid (When You Breathe, 2020) brings her expertise as an MD to Ava’s story, simplifying the complexity of lymphoma while packing an emotional punch with the musical references that Ava uses to cope. Through poetry, food, language, and traditions, Farid brings in elements of Persian culture, explaining them further in footnotes. As Ava confronts being a child of divorce and her mixed identity, along with the fear of losing Phoenix, she considers her world with a thoughtful and poetic lens. A solid selection for fans of The Brave (2020), by James Bird. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
