Tara Menon

When Marissa loses her mother at the age of six, her father, a marine biologist, decides to continue his wife’s research work. Father and daughter go to Thailand. There she meets Arielle, and an almost fairytale friendship develops. During the week, the girls live at Arielle’s parents’ resort; at weekends, they spend time with Marissa’s father on a nearby island. Together, the girls discover the fragile wonders of the reefs, forests and beaches. Together they learn to dive into the depths and hold their breath for minutes at a time. They move as effortlessly in the water as the manta rays, which they know by name. Together they learn to swim out of danger. But then comes a huge wave that Arielle cannot escape.

Years later, Marissa is back in New York, disoriented and haunted by the memory of her friend, once again threatened by a natural disaster. When the past returns over the course of two fateful days, she discovers how she can assert herself in an uncertain world.

Tara Menon tells the story – in wonderful pictures – of two girls who meet as children and immediately feel that they belong together.

Tara K. Menon, born in India and raised in Singapore, is a lecturer in English literature at Harvard. After ten years in New York, she now lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Language: English