
Reach for this book when your child is grappling with the isolating weight of grief or feeling like an outsider in their own changing body. Martha is thirteen and mourning the loss of her mother while navigating the awkwardness of a sudden growth spurt and a father who seems to be moving on too quickly. It is a gentle but profound exploration of what it means to belong when your world has shifted off its axis. Alice Hoffman weaves a story that feels like a modern fairy tale, blending the harsh realities of middle school and loss with a touch of magical realism. As Martha and her friends, the uniquely gifted 'Trout' and 'Eel,' set out on a journey toward the ocean, they discover that home isn't always a place on a map. This is an ideal choice for parents looking to support a child through life transitions or to validate the feeling of being 'different' during the vulnerable early teen years.
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Sign in to write a reviewThe children run away from home and face minor dangers on the road.
The book deals with the death of a mother and the subsequent grief in a direct but lyrical way. The boys' physical differences are treated as a source of both isolation and magical wonder. The approach is secular and deeply metaphorical, focusing on the fluidity of identity. The resolution is hopeful and magical, though it acknowledges that life cannot return to 'normal.'
A 12 year old who feels physically awkward or 'too big' for their skin, or a child who has experienced a major family loss and feels alienated from their peers who haven't known such tragedy.
Read cold. The prose is beautiful and accessible, though parents should be ready to discuss the final choice the characters make, which involves a degree of magical transformation/departure. A parent might notice their child becoming increasingly withdrawn, expressing a desire to 'be anywhere but here,' or showing frustration with a new step-parent figure or family change.
Younger readers (10) will latch onto the magical realism of the webbed fingers and the adventure of running away. Older readers (13-14) will resonate more deeply with Martha’s internal monologue about grief and her changing body.
Hoffman’s signature magical realism elevates a standard 'running away' story into a mythic quest for identity, making the 'different' body parts feel like destiny rather than disability.
Martha Glimmer is thirteen and struggling. Her mother has died, her body is changing too fast, and her father is being courted by a woman she dislikes. She teams up with her best friend Trevor and his brother Eli, boys with webbed hands and feet who have a mysterious connection to water. Together, they run away from their landlocked town to find the ocean and, in the process, find themselves and a new definition of home.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.