I just finished an advanced reader's copy of The Waves, An Island Novella, by Jane
Minkman.
No relation to Virginia Woolf's work. In spite of the title and the lighthouse on the cover. Definitely not as much of a downer, bless Woolf's soul.
Book theme: Losing your childhood
beliefs does not mean you lose all faith in the world. Walt is
inspired by an older cousin who questions the status quo without
being cynical, but it takes going to a land where no one shares his
beliefs for him to find his own peace with what he had always been
taught.
The novella was peopled with good,
sympathetic characters. It had a bit of the feel of Ursula K. Le
Guin, in the world building around arbitrary systems of beliefs. And
a bit tame Lord of the Flies. The obvious sources of their
ways of seeing the world was not treated as a joke, even though it
could have been, instead just imbuing the story with a sweet
tolerance.
I would recommend this to a teen
reader, and look forward to more from this author. Too bad about the
cigarette smoking scenes, though.