This is just such a lovely story, I enjoyed it so much, laugh out loud funny, full of interesting and real characters. Miles O'Malley is a thirteen year old boy, who lives with his parents in a coastal community where everyone knows each other. There is an eccentric elderly lady neighbour, a weird cult up the road, interfering busy bodys, secret crush, hilarious best friend. This was such a surprising read, and despite the great reviews and comments on the covers, I still wasn't sure if it would grab me or not. Miles has lived all his life close to the tide line and so is intimately connected to the environment around him. He loves roaming the beach at low tide, all hours of the day and night, collecting shells, fish, unusual creatures, seaweeds. One night he comes across a giant, and I mean giant - 37 feet - squid. Just lying there. This discovery unleashes a media storm, and thrusts Miles into a limelight he never sought. Newspaper, radio and TV journalists all want a piece of him, the local cult think he is some sort of messiah, his best friend the over sexed Phelps sees Miles in a new light and learns a few things about himself in the process, the love of his life is going through a serious crisis, the local psychic Florence delivers ominous warnings about the impending high tide. Somehow Miles manages to manoeuvre himself around all this drama, maintains his integrity, doesn't lose the essence of his thirteen year old self, and tells a great little story in the process. It is a coming of age tale, as appealing to adults as it would be to young adults/teenagers. Just magic.
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