Title: Fish Out of Water
Author: Natalie Whipple
Published: February 5, 2014 by Hot Key Books
Format: eARC
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: General Fiction, Romance
Description:
Mika Arlington was supposed to spend the summer after her junior year shadowing her marine biologist parents at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but when her estranged grandmother randomly shows up on the doorstep one day, those plans are derailed. Because Grandma Betty isn't here to play nice—she is cranky, intolerant of Mika's mixed-race-couple parents, and oh yeah she has Alzheimer's and is out of money. While Mika's family would rather not deal with Grandma Betty, they don't have much choice. And despite Mika's protests, she is roped into caring for a person that seems impossible to have compassion for. And if that wasn't hard enough, Mika must train the new guy at her pet shop job who wants to be anywhere else, and help a friend through her own family crisis. Something's gotta a give, but whichever ball Mika drops means losing someone she loves. Not exactly a recipe for Best Summer Ever—or is it?
Review:
I've had my review copy of this book for about a month now, and while the release is still a little ways off, I wanted to take my time getting this up because I wanted it to be right. It's only recently that I've come to enjoy realistic fiction, books without superpowers or imaginary worlds with great battles; I like to submerge myself in science fiction and fantasy novels, and part of the reason why is that I rarely found a realistic novel that, well, felt real to me. Even books like Hold Still, 13 Reasons Why, and The Fault in Our Stars (all of which I loved, by the way) are stories that don't belong to the everyday; yes, they happen, but I don't consider these types of stories as things that occur on a regular basis to the average person; they are exceptions, and, yes, they are real and heartbreaking and wonderful.
But what Natalie Whipple has delivered is a moment of truth.
Mika (and that's Meeka, not Micah) finally gets the opportunity to work at the Aquarium with her marine biologist parents when two strangers bring all her plans crashing down. Dylan is the new guy at work, but he's also the boss's hot troubled nephew with more than a few issues, but Dylan's not even the worst of Mika's problems. When an old woman she's never seen before shows up on her doorstep, Mika thinks she must have the wrong address, but Betty Arlington turns out to be Mika's estranged grandmother who has no money, no home, and a developing case of Alzheimer's. Torn from her summer internship and caught between the two people she wants nothing to do with, Mika's life becomes an emotional roller-coaster that feels all too familiar.
I wanted to read this book because I have followed Natalie Whipple's journey online for years and have become a huge fan of all her work, and I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed when I cracked this book open; of course, it doesn't hurt that she references The Princess Bride, like, a lot.
While I don't have a relative with Alzheimer's and I haven't fallen in love with a bad boy, I connected with this story so much more than I thought possible. From fights with parents and the fear of falling in love for the first time to quoting movies with best friends and hating the way the world works, this book nails what it is to be human, to have family, to struggle with why people are the way they are. It is real, and it is raw, and it is a great story about acceptance in a world with far too little of it. Whipple shows us what it is to keep swimming when all we want to do is give in, to fight for the things and the people we love and believe in rather than living a life of regrets, and to never give up on anyone, especially those we call family.
Fish Out of Water is a must-read for anyone who has ever lived, laughed, loved, lied, or lost, and I cannot recommend it enough.
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