HAZEL BLY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA

HAZEL BLY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA by Ashley Herring Blake

I recently wrote a post about not panicking if your child opens a book, begins reading, and stumbles upon content that does not fit your worldview and how to then take that book and use it as a springboard to conversation. I just had another prime example.

Recently, I took my 10-year-old daughter to the library. I packed my extra-large tote bag (you know the kind I'm talking about - reinforced canvas style with the metal frame that I could about crawl into myself and fit) and let her scour the shelves. She had a couple of books she was looking for, and I tossed in a couple that piqued my interest as we browsed, but it truly became a pulling of a book off the shelf, examine the cover, read the title, looks interesting in the bag it goes or looks boring back to the shelf it goes for her. (Here is where we all unanimously chant "You never judge a book by its cover!) She's old enough now so we've been going over what makes a good book and red flags speech recently. That is how this book ended up on my lap the other night with her commenting, "I'm pretty sure this girl has two moms." I thanked her for bringing it to my attention and told her I'd check it out. She was correct, and what was throwing her off a bit is that one was from England, so her name was "Mum." I'm going to admit that I didn't completely read this book. I scan read parts of it and deep read sections of it and was able to get a pretty good idea of what was going on.

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake is a story filled with intense tragedy. Hazel's family consisted of Mum, Mama, a little sister "Peach," and herself. Notice I wrote consisted (past tense) because Mum and Hazel were involved in a kayak accident that left Hazel with a very noticeable scar on her face and Mum dead. Since then, Mama has been moving them from place to place, and Hazel is living with crippling guilt and fear. No one is really able to heal or move on with life. Then a chance encounter happens. While living in a beach house in Maine, their neighbor turns out to be Hazel's Mom's best friend, Claire, from elementary school that moved away. They haven't seen each other in years. We learn that they were each other's first love and first kiss. You can quickly see where this is going. Hazel doesn't want a new mom. She wants to go home. Add in the fact that she's dealing with her own attraction to a girl her own age who uses the pronouns they and them. (It took me a minute to realize that we were talking about 1 person.) When she can no longer handle the situation, Hazel jumps into a boat and rows out into the ocean. She decides to attempt what a local legend says happened to a girl named Rosemary Lee (who Hazel bears an uncanny resemblance to) whose family drowned. Rosemary Lee was unable to handle the loss of her family and one day walked into the sea. Not long after stories start occuring of a mermaid who looks like Rosemary Lee. Back to Hazel. As she slips into the water she hopes to feel flukes behind her, to find she has changed into a mermaid. Of course that doesn't happen, she panics, and her loved ones flash before her eyes, and then Rosemary Lee is there (whether real or imagined) and she helps get her up to safety where Hazel is rescued. From there the book tries to work towards closure and some sort of moving forward. New relationships are started, a new home is secured, and a mermaid club is started, but this is a lot of heaviness for me (let alone a middle grader) that doesn't leave when you close the book. It's not just YA books that are angsty anymore! Reading books like this make you feel like the innocence of childhood is a thing of the past.