June 27, 2022
Eighteen-year-old New Jersey native Coriander Cabot and her late best friend Ella have dreamed of saving the whales since elementary school. To keep Ella’s memory alive, Cor pursues their shared goals—among them, getting tattoos, seeing a Harry Styles concert, and spending the summer before senior year interning at the Cape Cod Marine Research and Conservation Alliance. Cor, who’s staying with her uncle and his boyfriend, is both excited for the opportunity and grief-stricken about doing it without Ella. Then she meets lifeguard and aspiring chef Mannix. The teens fall hard and fast for each other, crossing getting “real boyfriends” off Cor’s list. But when two crises converge, she must confront new allegiances and shifting loyalties between her and Ella’s beloved whales and her blossoming love for Mannix. Mannix’s interpersonal familial conflicts and Cor’s emotional turmoil add intensity and tension to the otherwise frothy story. While the teens’ developing relationship follows a familiar formula, the narrative’s strong ecological message and George’s (Words Composed of Sea and Sky) expertly drawn seaside setting make for a pensive summer romance. Characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Liza Fleissig, Liza Royce Agency.