A Possibility of Whales

January 8, 2018
The most defining element of Natalia Rose Gallagher’s life is that she’s never met her mother: “You can come out of someone’s body, she thought, and not have that count as meeting them.” Nat knows she could probably find her mother’s name online, since her father is a movie star with a hulking physique and an even bigger personality (think Dwayne Johnson), but she’s afraid of what she’ll learn. As she approaches puberty, though, Nat desperately needs somebody. After moving from California to Canada and feeling betrayed by the best friend she left behind, Nat fixates on Harry, a transgender classmate with a disapproving father. Rivers (Love, Ish) packs a lot into this story (including Nat’s love of whales), perhaps too much. Although Harry gets chapters of his own, his character is never fully developed, so it’s unclear why Nat is so determined to be friends with him when he sometimes treats her shabbily. Even less satisfying is the mystery surrounding Nat’s mother, whose identity—known to everyone but Nat—is eventually revealed, but not the reason she abandoned her daughter. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary.