While packed with information about unusual sea life, the story of Miles O'Malley, a pint sized 13 year old whose intelligence is beyond his years is mediocre.

Living with parents whose relationship is on the rocks, he spends every waking hour in a nearby bay collecting clams and other crustaceans for collectors and restaurants. Short of five feet, he's a standing joke to his friends until luck swings his way. Discovery of a giant squid opens the door to his celebrity, but when he predicts the highest tide in history, Miles fame elevates to new levels. What most don't know is the prediction emanated from his elderly friend, Florence.

Beyond this there's not much to tell, though I had high hopes at the beginning.

If you enjoy these kind of stories, you might add it. Otherwise, I can't honestly recommend it. ( )

Miles is a thirteen year old boy living on the shores of Puget Sound. He’s a kid that notices things – and has developed an eye for both marine edibles such as clams that he can sell to restaurants and to unusual specimens that he can sell to aquariums.

And then one day he finds a giant squid, which becomes the center of scientific interest.
Shortly afterwards he finds other marine life that really shouldn’t be there, washed up from the ocean depths onto the shoreline.

Absurdly. he finds himself the darling of a cult and also the center of media frenzy. At the same time, he is finding his way with his own friends. One of them is an elderly woman whom he helps to stay in her home. She also seems to have special knowledge of the sound and the ocean tides.

This is an interesting coming-of-age novel set in a novel environment. The setting is more than a character in this novel – the sound determines the lives of its human and nonhuman inhabitants.

4 stars. I could feel the salt on my tongue as I read it. ( )

“See as much as you can see, I guess. Rachel Carson said most of us go through life "unseeing." I do that some days...I think it's easier to see when you're a kid. We're not in a hurry to get anywhere and we don't have those long to-do lists you guys have.”

“...that's the nature of marine life and the inland bays I grew up on. You'd have to be a scientist, a poet and a comedian to hope to describe it all accurately, and even then you'd often fall short.”

Miles O’Malley is a smart, gifted thirteen year old. He is an only child living with indifferent parents and he finds solace and wonder exploring the tidal flats of Puget Sound. One day he discovers a rare giant squid, washed up with the tide. He becomes a bit of a celebrity with locals and the scientific community. This is a coming of age novel, as Miles tries to grapple with approaching adulthood and understanding the mysteries of his beloved ocean and the warning signs it has been projecting. Lynch is a good writer but this one doesn’t quite reach the heights of his classic Border Songs. I still recommend it. ( )

THE HIGHEST TIDE reveals a boy's wonder at the splendors of nature found in his bayside tidal marsh.

Friendships are beautifully delivered in contrasting dialogues, from those with his sex-obsessed pal to
his former babysitter, now the love of his life, and to Florence, the injured best friend who he cares for.

What is missing is ANY compassion that the13 year old boy would be expected to feel
for all the animals he "collects" and sells as specimens for experimentation and to restaurant owners. ( )

This book was such a sweet break from all the heavy topics surrounding me (Racism, Covid-19, parents with Dementia) and I loved it. Miles is a young boy who absolutely lives for his daily ocean shoreline discoveries. That and his crush on his next door neighbor. And his best friend, the elderly housebound woman. He is awkward and utterly brilliant and I loved the mix of wry humor, human connections, and the beauty of tidal marshes and its strange inhabitants. As Miles makes astonishing discovery after discovery, the local news station takes note and he soon becomes a celebrity, whether he wants to be or not. It didn't hurt that the book takes place in the state next door to me, Washington. ( )