Wave: A Novel in Verse

by Diana Farid, Kris Goto (Illustrator)

Overview

Winner of the Cybils Award for Poetry Novel, Diana Farid’s Wave is a coming-of-age novel in verse set in 1980s Southern California, about a Persian American girl who rides the waves, falls, and finds her way back to the shore, illustrated by Kris Goto.

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book 2022
A Golden Poppy Finalist for Mirrors & Windows and Middle Grade
A Middle East Book Award Honor 2023
A Northern California Book Award Nominee for Best Middle Grade Book

Thirteen-year-old Ava loves to surf and to sing. Singing and reading Rumi poems settle her mild OCD, and catching waves with her best friend, Phoenix, lets her fit in—her olive skin looks tan, not foreign.

But then Ava has to spend the summer before ninth grade volunteering at the hospital to follow in her single mother’s footsteps to become a doctor. And when Phoenix’s past lymphoma surges back, not even surfing, singing, or poetry can keep them afloat, threatening Ava’s hold on the one place and the one person that make her feel like she belongs.

With ocean-like rhythm and lyricism, Wave is about a girl who rides the waves, tumbles, and finds her way back to the shore.

“Raw and powerful, this free verse novel honestly explores issues of identity, culture, grief, and hope . . . Rich, layered, and heart-rending.” —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951836580
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	03/29/2022
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	296,057
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Diana Farid is the author of When You Breathe, published by Cameron Kids. She is a poet and a physician at Stanford University. She lives in the Bay Area.
Honolulu-based fine artist Kris Goto was born in Japan. She spent most of her adolescence in Hong Kong and New Zealand, where she became inspired by the outside world and a passion for manga.

Editorial Reviews

"Farid’s word choices are often as meaningful as their design: Water bubbles 'tumble tumble / rumble' onomatopoetically, and careful readers will appreciate the many different appearances and articulations of the titular 'wave.'"

BookPage

"Farid 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."

Booklist

"Processing her feelings through music empowers Ava and gives her a new understanding of home and the connections she shares with others. Raw and powerful, this free verse novel honestly explores issues of identity, culture, grief, and hope... Rich, layered, and heart-rending."—Kirkus Reviews

"Farid’s poetry rides the page like a wave, charting the ups and downs of Ava’s emotions. . .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." —School Library Journal

"Farid 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." —Booklist

"Farid’s word choices are often as meaningful as their design: Water bubbles 'tumble tumble / rumble' onomatopoetically, and careful readers will appreciate the many different appearances and articulations of the titular 'wave.'"—BookPage

From the Publisher

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

School Library Journal

2021-12-15
First-generation Persian American Ava is looking forward to spending the summer before ninth grade surfing and hanging out with her friends.

These hopes are dashed when her single mother, a surgeon at the local hospital, signs her up to volunteer there, hoping this will inspire Ava to follow in her footsteps. In 1980s Southern California, Ava struggles with being a part of two cultures while feeling like an outsider in both. These feelings are compounded by her father’s absence and her OCD. Music, surfing, and her friendship with neighbor Phoenix, a boy who is cued as White, provide a sense of belonging. When Phoenix’s cancer comes back, Ava’s left feeling adrift. Processing her feelings through music empowers Ava and gives her a new understanding of home and the connections she shares with others. Raw and powerful, this free verse novel honestly explores issues of identity, culture, grief, and hope. Ava’s straightforward narration is sparse yet still manages to convey a lyrical sensibility: “I forget my body. / I forget the dread. / I forget the sweat. / I forget / who I have been and who left. / I only feel now o’clock. / Each note’s a stitch. / I’m a cut, getting mended.”Ava’s journey is full of swells and surges, but like a true surfer, she realizes the joy is in taking the ride. Delicate, precise spot art enhances the text.

Rich, layered, and heart-rending. (lyrics, mixtape tracks, information about Rumi, endnotes) (Verse novel. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews

Author Diana Farid delivers the verse of her novel with a slow, steady rhythm that mimics the waves that teen Ava surfs. The rhythm also heightens the strain Ava feels from repetitive fights with her mother about not wanting to become a doctor, interactions with a racist at the beach, sadness surrounding her absent father, and the expectations of the Persian community. As turmoil from her best friend Phoenix's recurring lymphoma and her own struggles with OCD comes to a head, Ava finds solace in singing and writing music. The pacing of the verse is too slow at times. Some dialogue-heavy scenes don't fit the lyrical format and can be difficult to follow without character distinctions in the narration. Nonetheless, anxious teens will find a kindred spirit in Ava. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2022 - AudioFile