AMETHYST, THE SHALLOWS

In Abernathy’s YA novel, six small-town teenagers are brought together by magic that lurks within the sea.

In the aftermath of a “Sickness” that closely resembles the Covid-19 pandemic, the close-knit Southern California town of Dipitous Beach slowly comes back to life after lockdown. The ripple effects of months of isolation are still felt by this novel’s teens and adults. Abernathy opens with Grand Ella’s musings on her reclusive teenage granddaughter, Condi Bloom, who’s still upset about the sudden departure of her crush, Trustin Davis. Fourteen-year-old Lorelei Finch deals with her mother’s long-term illness and her own lingering symptoms, and her younger brother, Tad, keeps an eye on their worried father. Casey Arondale, Lorelei’s 14-year-old boyfriend, frets over his parents’ struggling B&B business and whether isolation has lessened Lorelei’s feelings for him. Seventeen-year-old Irish immigrant Kait Dooley can’t wait to leave the old mansion where she works as a maid, assisting the cantankerous, grieving Mrs. Hardy. Teen Isaac Huddleston hates Dipitous Beach the moment he arrives there to live with his father, while reeling from his mother’s sudden demise. Then Lorelei has a strange experience with a luminous octopus while surfing (on her surfboard, Amethyst): “The creature gazes soulfully at her, an orb of white light glowing behind wise, kind eyes.” However, Isaac is the only one who believes her fantastical story. Abernathy effectively weaves together and pulls apart the many threads that connect this extended cast, switching between the third-person perspectives of the teens and tertiary, eccentric supporting characters, such as Triponica, an expert free diver and leader of a group of elderly women known as Beachlings. As the main action of the plot gains speed, the tale manages to explore a variety of topics and themes including first love, loss, resilience, hope, and magic; the author soon makes clear, however, that simple human connection is the beating heart of this novel. Although readers may find the many point-of-view changes to be mildly confusing or even tedious at times, each voice is distinctive and adds to the book’s overall charm.

An often affecting tale about the importance of communication and wonder.