Twelve-year-old Mike -- short for Michaela -- loves the ocean. The sights, sounds, and smells of her coastal home are embedded in her very soul.
But Michaela loves her brother, Red, even more.
Then one day Red disappears. One minute he's there, the next...gone. No warning. No time to prepare. And Mike must come to terms with that loss or risk never finding comfort in what remains of the life she and her brother once shared.

About The Author

Photograph by Roz Pinkard

Angela Johnson

Angela Johnson has won three Coretta Scott King Awards, one each for her novels The First Part Last, Heaven, and Toning the Sweep. The First Part Last was also the recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award. She is also the author of the novels Looking for Red and A Certain October. Her books for younger readers include the Coretta Scott King Honor Book When I Am Old with You, illustrated by David Soman; Wind Flyers and I Dream of Trains, both illustrated by Loren Long; and Lottie Paris Lives Here and its sequel Lottie Paris and the Best Place, both illustrated by Scott M. Fischer. Additional picture books include A Sweet Smell of Roses, Just Like Josh Gibson, The Day Ray Got Away, and All Different Now. In recognition of her outstanding talent, Angela was named a 2003 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Kent, Ohio. Visit her at AJohnsonAuthor.com.

Product Details

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (November 1, 2003)
Length: 128 pages
ISBN13: 9780689863882
Ages: 12 - 99

Raves and Reviews

Booklist Johnson's latest novel -- part mystery, part ghost story, and part coming-of-age narrative -- is chilling and heartbreaking....In beautiful prose, the narrative moves fluidly from flashbacks to the present, and the stages of grief are represented in startling but realistic ways.

Publishers Weekly Those mourning a loss are likely to find Mike's incisive observations familiar and comforting.