This was a really quick and gripping read and not entirely what I expected. It has all the romance and angst I'd expect of a YA novel but alongside the will-they-won't-they drama between Kai and Jenn, is the added drama of Kai becoming stranded at sea. This was a really enjoyable summer read, but it definitely made me think twice about any solo surfing!

A very quick read; A Boy Called Ocean is at once romance with a hint of mystery and a lot of teen angst, but also a love letter to the sea and its beauty and majesty. I liked the quick pace of the text and the different viewpoints of the main characters.

Jen, Ellie, Macca and Kai are all supposed to be meeting at the beach and hanging out.



Kai wants to have a nice date with Jen at the beach front cafe where he plans to ask her to be his girlfriend. She doesn't know of the impending date but goes to meet him at the cafe only to learn he needs to work late now thanks to his boss.



Ellie persuades Jem to stay out with her and Macca and Jay on the beach but Kai sees and gets angry lashing out at customers and breaking cafe property which he then gets fired from and storms off, the grab Macca's surfboard and plunge into the sea...



As Jen stays out with Macca, Ellie reads the situation wrong assuming that Men fancies him now which upsets her deeply as she likes Macca.



The Jem discovers Kai isn't home, that's why he hasn't answered her calls or texts, no one knows where he is, so lifeboats are launched and a rescue operation over a underway to rescue him before it's too late...



As kai is stranded we learn of the domestic abuse his mother suffered and why they escaped to Cornwall, originally they loved Cornwall thanks to the stories she used to tell Kai about mermaids. His thoughts about Jen all keep him going while stranded at sea and when he sees a seal and realises it's not a dangerous shark, he feels comforted even if the seal can't help him.



He wants his future and holds onto his life as best he can while stranded out at sea. Jen, the girl he cares for so much is highly anxious and impatient awaiting news of him as lifeboats and helicopters get deployed and shows how a big scale rescue goes down whether fiction or real life it's awe inspiring the life saving work they do all year, all day round. There's also a final addition at the end of the book with Kai's mum talking about why she left Kai's father and her possible probable postnatal depression which caused her to rely on alcohol.



The issues around safety in the sea are issues which should be raised more in teens and children's fiction in my opinion but at least they are in this stunning book, much praise to Chris for this!



It was a gripping read that leaves your heart skipping beats in anticipation.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!