How to Make Friends with the Sea

by Tanya Guerrero

Overview

Tanya Guerrero's How to Make Friends with the Sea is a middle grade debut novel set in the Philippines about a young boy's challenges with anxiety while his mother fosters an orphaned child with a facial anomaly.

Pablo is homesick.

He’s only twelve years old, but he’s lived in more countries than he can count. After his parents divorced, he and his mother have moved from place to place for years, never settling anywhere long enough to call it home. And along the way, Pablo has collected more and more fears: of dirt, of germs, and most of all, of the ocean.

Now they’re living in the Philippines, and his mother, a zoologist who works at a local wildlife refuge, is too busy saving animals to notice that Pablo might need saving, too. Then his mother takes in Chiqui, an orphaned girl with a cleft lip—and Pablo finds that through being strong for Chiqui, his own fears don’t seem so scary.

He might even find the courage to face his biggest fear of all…and learn how to make friends with the sea.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250763273
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	03/30/2021
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	418,400
Product dimensions:	5.13(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Tanya Guerrero is Filipino and Spanish by birth, but has been fortunate enough to call three countries home—the Philippines, Spain, and the United States. Currently, she lives in a shipping container home in the suburbs of Manila with her husband, daughter, and a menagerie of rescued cats and dogs. In her free time, she grows her own food, bakes bread, and reads. How to Make Friends with the Sea is her debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

"Guerrero touches on many topics—anxiety, fostering, friendship, family, selective mutism, and more—seamlessly weaving them all together to create a strong, moving narrative. [...] A heartbreaking, heartwarming, powerful debut novel." — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

"A story for anyone who's ever asked where—and what—home is." — Jack Cheng, author of See You in the Cosmos

"How to Make Friends with the Sea is a heartwarming story about family, friendship, identity and finding courage within our own hearts. I know readers will have as much fun cheering for Pablo as I did." — Dan Gemeinhart, author of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

"Touching and sweet, Tanya Guerrero’s debut How to Make Friends with the Sea is a multi-layered story with heaps of heart. Readers will root for Pablo as he finds his courage, voice, and family on this journey to self-acceptance." — Elly Swartz, author of Finding Perfect and Give and Take

"Atmospheric and moving, How to Make Friends with the Sea is an impressive debut. The friendship between Pablo and Chiqui completely captured my heart." — Jasmine Warga, author of Other Words for Home

From the Publisher

02/28/2020

Gr 3–7—Twelve-year-old Pablo finds himself adjusting to another new environment as his zoologist mother explores fresh opportunities. This time they land in the Philippines, and even though Pablo is starting to make connections, his OCD and anxiety are escalating. He misses his estranged dad and feels at fault for their sporadic relationship. Then his Mom takes in Chiqui, a traumatized orphan with a cleft lip. Pablo warms up to Chiqui, finding himself tentatively opening up to new people and experiences while making peace with a world in which he has little control. Debut author Guerrero presents an #OwnVoices account of life in present-day Philippines. Readers will be immersed in Filipino culture as they fall into Pablo's story and quest for home. Many will relate to his struggles with upheaval, worry, and misplaced guilt. Numerous issues are explored in the plot, yet it never feels too busy or cluttered. Short chapters will keep readers turning pages, and the story seems to finish as quickly as it begins. As in real life, not everything ends perfectly, but Pablo finds the courage to be truthful with his mother and finally gains a stable home and secure family. A glossary of Tagalog words and phrases is included in the back of the volume. VERDICT Through caring for his new foster sibling, and the patience and kindness of trusted adults, Pablo starts to gain a sense of calm and security. A solid title that explores contemporary life in the Philippines, as well as coping with anxiety and OCD, all within a heartwarming story starring a likable protagonist.—Kate Nafz, Fair Lawn Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

★ 2019-12-08
A boy struggles with anxiety amid significant life changes.

Pablo and his mother move around every few months and are currently residing in the Philippines. Ever since he was little, things bothered Pablo, but after his parents' divorce, Pablo has picked up more anxieties, ranging from tiny things like germs and crumbs to the sea—his biggest fear. On Pablo's 12th birthday, his mother brings home an orphaned Filipino girl with a cleft lip. Chiqui, as they call her, doesn't understand English, won't speak, and has a hard time adjusting to her new environment. At first, Pablo hates the change, but one evening Chiqui speaks to him and only him. Pablo realizes he wants to be strong for Chiqui and to protect her, and that feeling might be bigger than all his fears, even the sea. As related by Pablo, this is an indelible depiction of a child's struggle with mental health. Readers learn empathy as they feel Pablo's heartbreaking struggles firsthand, but they also experience the loving relationships that help him overcome them. Guerrero touches on many topics—anxiety, fostering, friendship, family, selective mutism, and more—seamlessly weaving them all together to create a strong, moving narrative. Originally from Spain, Pablo's mother mixes English with her native tongue, and other characters often speak Tagalog. Pablo and his mother are both white.

A heartbreaking, heartwarming, powerful debut novel. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews