you know how they use water in church, or when they baptize people? i think it's because every time you're in the ocean, whether you know it or not, you're linked to something that's constantly new. every wave a new start.

i liked reading this book! it was an easy read, and maudie is a protagonist i couldn't help but become fond of and root for.  i also enjoyed how this book walks through maudie's emotions and processing, and the eyes in which she views the world and how it affects her differently than most of the people in her life (notably excepting her dad! i loved the thread of them bonding over "different-brain").

i found the chapter structure both interesting and confusing. it reminds me a bit of what maudie's diary might look like, complete with entry titles, and breaks in novel strucutrue of her poetry coping mechanisms - which makes me like it more! i think the moments where i wanted more complexity from the prose or flow in the poetry, more finesse in the portrayal of the abuse maudie faces, less of the very conversational, first person pov were more signals that i am not the target level of reader than a fault of the book.

theres a line of thought through this book that i think is very helpful for young ones, especially neurodiverse children.  isn't it my job to be clay? to mold myself? to figure out what the adults want, and go along with that? + maudie's slow unpacking of this, of the importance of not letting your pain be silenced by adults that don't have your well-being as a priority, and of recognizing that abuse is no reflection on you or the way your brain works. all of this was conveyed throughout the book that really built my anticipation for the surf bash and unveiling of maudie's secrets and made me not want to put down those last chapters until i reached the end- an ending that made me feel satisfied and warm. welcome home maudie! onward!