
Iranian on his mother’s side and white American on his father’s side, Darius never quite fits in. When Darius’ grandfather becomes terminally ill, Darius, along with his parents and younger sister, travels to Iran for the first time in his life. 12 & up)ĭarius Kellner suffers from depression, bullying by high school jocks, and a father who seems to always be disappointed in him. A winning generosity of spirit infuses the narrative, particularly regarding shark/animal conservation. Writing from Bee's point of view using clear, distinctive prose that is interspersed with Tommy's intriguing facts about sharks, shark attacks, whales and the ocean, Monninger adroitly creates a moving, suspenseful story of survival that is part surfing adventure, part nature-and-science tale. Tommy, with a quiet, intelligent intensity, is a shark expert whose dream is to dive with great white sharks "because they are the apex predator fish and they fascinate me." Bee, responsible and high-achieving, is protective of Tommy and hopes that this trip to the Farallones will give him one exciting day "filled all the way up." But it's an unplanned expedition to Half Moon Bay and Maverick's Break, a surfing location known for its 50-foot waves, that affects both of them deeply. A compassionate, wholly absorbing story about 15-year-old Bee, her beloved 11-year-old brother, Tommy, who has cystic fibrosis, and their sometimes-flighty single mother, who travel from small-town New Hampshire to San Francisco via a wish-granting organization for kids with life-threatening medical conditions.
