Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea - by Ashley Herring Blake (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A poignant yet hopeful novel about a girl navigating grief, trauma, and friendship, from Ashley Herring Blake, the award-winning author of Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World.

Hazel Bly used to live in the perfect house with the perfect family in sunny California. But when a kayaking trip goes horribly wrong, Mum is suddenly gone forever and Hazel is left with crippling anxiety and a jagged scar on her face. After Mum's death, Hazel, her other mother, Mama, and her little sister, Peach, need a fresh start. So for the last two years, the Bly girls have lived all over the country, never settling anywhere for more than a few months.

When the family arrives in Rose Harbor, Maine, there's a wildness to the small town that feels like magic. But when Mama runs into an old childhood friend--Claire--suddenly Hazel's tight-knit world is infiltrated. To make it worse, she has a daughter Hazel's age, Lemon, who can't stop rambling on and on about the Rose Maid, a local 150-year-old mermaid myth.

Soon, Hazel finds herself just as obsessed with the Rose Maid as Lemon is--because what if magic were real? What if grief really could change you so much, you weren't even yourself anymore? And what if instead you emerged from the darkness stronger than before?

Review Quotes

Praise for Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea:

A 2022 Lamba Literary Award finalist

"Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea is simply magical. Hazel's story of grief swells into a transformative tale of healing that will steal any reader's heart. Yes, magic is absolutely real--Ashley has proven it with the beauty and power of her words alone."

--Kacen Callender, Kacen Callender, National Book Award winner of King and the Dragonflies

"Packing an emotional punch, this delicately woven novel by Blake (The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James) features clearly wrought characters who capture the heart."

--Publishers Weekly

"An honest and moving exploration of loss that highlights the healing power of reclaiming oneself and allowing hope to thrive."
--School Library Journal

"Blake's gorgeous prose will stir deep emotions within readers, and her descriptions of the seaside setting are full of lovely sensory details...This story of a girl navigating the choppy waters of grief toward a brighter shore is heart-rending but full of hope."--Bookpage

"Blake balances many plot elements, often serious ones, without overburdening the narrative, to create a character-based, atmospheric novel with a strong sense of place."

--Horn Book

"The author allows the reader to feel the pain that death and divorce bring, the joys of finding acceptance with peers, determining one's own sexual identity, and learning to begin the healing process from physical and mental pain. Readers will be able to see themselves in the characters and may find ways to deal with the struggles they are going through in their own lives."

--School Library Connection

[Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea] is a moving story of grief and guilt. This novel deals with loss in a way that feels accessible but never condescending.

--Booklist

"At times heartwrenching but ultimately heartwarming, it's a story of resilience that readers will want to dive right into."--BCCB

About the Author

Ashley Herring Blake is the author of the young adult novels Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish, and Girl Made of Stars, as well as the Stonewall honor novel Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World, The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, and Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea. Ashley lives in Georgia with her husband and two sons.