What the Waves Know: A Novel

by Tamara Valentine

Overview

A teen searches for herself and her voice on the New England island where she lost both eight years ago in this evocative debut coming-of-age novel.

Off the coast of Rhode Island, on the sharp crags of tiny Tillings Island lies the secret of Izabella Rae Haywood’s sixth birthday. That night, her father vanished, taking her voice—and the truth of what really happened—along with him.

In the autumn of 1974, after eight long years of unsuccessful psychiatrist visits and silence, Iz’s mother packs up the tattered remains of their life, determined to return to Tillings in one last attempt to reclaim Iz’s voice—and piece together the splintered memories of the day her words ran dry. But when the residents of Tillings greet them with a standoffish welcome, it becomes clear that they know something about Iz, and the father she adored, that she does not.

Now, as the island’s annual festival prepares to celebrate the ties that bind mothers to children, lovers to each other, and humankind to the sea, Iz must unravel the tangled threads of her own history . . . or risk losing herself—and any chance she may have for a future—to the past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062413840
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/15/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	354
Sales rank:	968,136
File size:	669 KB

About the Author

Tamara Valentine obtained an M.A. with distinction from Middlebury College and has spent the past fourteen years as a professor in the English Department at Johnson & Wales University. Presently, she lives in Kingston, Rhode Island, with her husband and three children. 

Editorial Reviews

What the Waves Know is a beautiful, elegant book that dives deep into the heart of childhood, memory and voice. Izabella, our silent protagonist, will surely stay with you for a very long time, as if she were someone you once knew and loved. — Jessica Anya Blau, national bestselling author of The Summer of Naked Swim Parties

“In this journey of trauma and healing, the walking wounded repair their lives together, their voices shaping a rough chorus that calls us back from darkness to light.” — USA Today bestselling author Pamela Schoenewaldt

With poignant language and compelling characters, Tamara Valentine explores voice and silence, creativity and madness, imagination and memory, and the mysteries that imbue our world and our minds. In so doing, Valentine reminds us that to be fully human is to be both a story teller and a story dweller. — Christina Meldrum, author of Madapple and Amaryllis in Blueberry

“What the Waves Know is a marvelous novel that creates a sense of place so specific you can practically taste the salt spray on the windswept New England beaches.” — New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Mary McNear

A novel rich in mythology and childhood secrets... This dreamy coming-of-age mystery unfolds in tantalizing waves with keen insight and lush prose. — Kirkus Reviews

Valentine’s debut is a well-written, charming book. She writes gracefully about loss and sadness and how time and good people can help to heal the wounds of a hurting child. — Library Journal

With the sass of Fannie Flagg and the subtle magic of Alice Hoffman, this short but powerful book should find readers of many generations. — Booklist

“Valentine’s debut novel is a beautiful tale of loss, love and the fortitude of the human spirit.” — Romantic Times BOOKclub, 4 stars

From the Publisher

What the Waves Know is a beautiful, elegant book that dives deep into the heart of childhood, memory and voice. Izabella, our silent protagonist, will surely stay with you for a very long time, as if she were someone you once knew and loved.

Jessica Anya Blau

With poignant language and compelling characters, Tamara Valentine explores voice and silence, creativity and madness, imagination and memory, and the mysteries that imbue our world and our minds. In so doing, Valentine reminds us that to be fully human is to be both a story teller and a story dweller.

Christina Meldrum

What the Waves Know is a marvelous novel that creates a sense of place so specific you can practically taste the salt spray on the windswept New England beaches.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

In this journey of trauma and healing, the walking wounded repair their lives together, their voices shaping a rough chorus that calls us back from darkness to light.

USA Today bestselling author Pamela Schoenewaldt

With the sass of Fannie Flagg and the subtle magic of Alice Hoffman, this short but powerful book should find readers of many generations.

Booklist

Valentine’s debut novel is a beautiful tale of loss, love and the fortitude of the human spirit.

Romantic Times BOOKclub

With the sass of Fannie Flagg and the subtle magic of Alice Hoffman, this short but powerful book should find readers of many generations.

Booklist

12/01/2015
In this evocative novel, an angry six-year-old Izabella yells at her father for ruining her birthday. He speeds off into the night, never to return. Eight years later, Iz hasn't spoken since, her voice silenced for fear of what else her words may break. She and her mother return to Tillings Island, in the hopes that coming home will help bring Iz back to herself. The problem is, everyone there seems to know the story of her father's disappearance better than she does. It isn't until the town's annual festival honoring a local spirit of the sea that the memories Iz worked so hard to block out as a child start returning. VERDICT Valentine's debut is a well-written, charming book. She writes gracefully about loss and sadness and how time and good people can help to heal the wounds of a hurting child. The author also handles mental illness and the damage it can cause a family with tact and care. Readers will enjoy getting to know Iz, who is smart and canny underneath her quiet exterior, and the family and friends who love her back to herself.—Jennifer Mills, Shorewood-Troy Lib., IL

Library Journal

2015-11-19
In a novel rich in mythology and childhood secrets, a girl searches for her voice in the Rhode Island town where she stopped speaking at age 6. Eight years after her father disappeared on her birthday, Izabella Haywood is still writing on notepads to avoid speaking the truth about what happened. Inside her head we catch glimpses of a creative but troubled man who hunts for fairies late at night, who fights with Izabella's mother constantly, and who ultimately leaves his daughter and wife behind. Viewed through the lens of a child who was too young to understand what she saw that night, the question of why is especially poignant—and the answer is hidden in plain sight. The book is mostly set in the summer of 1974, and its historical details, such as an outdated film title on a marquee, gently place Izabella's memories in a not-too-distant past where missing persons make the nightly news. For Izabella, the truth might still be lying around the house if she knows where to look. On Tillings Island, the locals are preparing for their annual festival to celebrate the African ocean goddess Yemaya, and the loose spirituality that permeates the community echoes the dreamlike quality of Izabella's thoughts. But normalcy beckons to Izabella as she reconnects with Grandma Jo, whose braless joie de vivre presents a cheerful foil to the cold war brewing between Izabella and her mother. The family dog, Luke, also whimpers and nuzzles his way through Izabella's silence with surprising force. When the truth finally emerges, Izabella's heartfelt revelation puts sharply into focus the unspoken terror of being a child in an unpredictable world. This dreamy coming-of-age mystery unfolds in tantalizing waves with keen insight and lush prose.

Kirkus Reviews