By: Christena
Books, ,

Magical Gem – My Book Review

AMETHYST, THE SHALLOWS
by
Kellye Abernathy
YA / Magical Realism / Coming of Age
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Page Count: 296 pages
Publication Date: February 6, 2024
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“This is a night for being brave.”
In the aftermath of a devastating sickness that shatters their close-knit beach town, six lonely kids are drawn together during the unpredictable autumn equinox. Among them are fourteen-year-old Lorelei, who yearns to be an oceanographer, and her peculiar younger brother, Tad, who possesses an otherworldly curiosity.
When Lorelei has a strange and almost deadly encounter in a sea cave, her loyal boyfriend, Casey, cannot reconcile her fantastical experience with the rational world. Condi, Lorelei’s best friend, understands ocean magic but isn’t free to share what she knows. Kait, a girl from Ireland, regrets her impulsive move to America–all because of an odd occurrence involving her deceased boyfriend’s lost surfboard. When tides turn and the moon shifts, Isaac, the new kid in town who despises the ocean, is forced to face the truth–a profound and powerful magic lives in the deep.
Guided by a wise surf master, mystical old women known as the Beachlings, and an open-hearted grandmother, six kids embark on transformative adventures that challenge their beliefs about possibilities and the intense nature of love.
Amethyst, the Shallows is the companion novel to The Aquamarine Surfboard.
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I must confess I wanted to read and review Kellye Abernathy’s newest book, Amethyst, The Shallows, which is Book Two of the Yellow Cottage Stories. Just as with the first debut book, The Aquamarine Surfboard – is a true gem.

This book gets my highest praise. It swept me away in the best sense of literary fiction from the beginning to the end. Abernathy created two worlds where spirits exist in the sea. Then you throw into this mix the beauty of spirits coming back to help the living.

This story picks up where Book One left off and is about what happens after the Sickness has nearly disappeared from the community. Book Two revolves more around the community and its cast of characters. The one character I loved the most is Tad. I love his young braveness of wanting to save sea turtles and an octopus. What’s more is Kellye’s writing of the octopus and the parrot, Guardian making these animals come alive.

This story is about learning to come together after the Sickness with the main core around kindness being carried throughout this book.

While this book is geared toward middle-grade readers, any group of readers can fall in love with this story. It touches on the topics of dealing with basic life issues and finding a path of kindness and grace in your life.

This book is an entertaining, magical read. Amethyst, The Shallows is the perfect blend of magic, mystery, and coming of age for kids. As with the first book, this one would be a good addition to a classroom for kids to read on their own and explore their own takeaways from the book. Kids need inspiring stories to help them be brave.

I’m looking forward to more of Tad, the octopus, and the parrot. I’m looking forward to simply reading where Kellye takes this series.

Kellye Abernathy’s passions are writing and serving trauma survivors as a yoga teacher and practical life skills advocate. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary English Education from the University of Kansas. Her home is in land-locked Plano, Texas—where she’s dreaming of her next trip to the sea!
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