Words in Deep Blue

Rachel

 

 

I open my eyes at midnight to the sound of the ocean and my brother s breathing. It s been ten months since Cal drowned, but the dreams still escape.

 

I m confident in the dreams, liquid with the sea. I m breathing underwater, eyes open and unstung by salt. I see fish, a school of silver--bellied moons thrumming beneath me. Cal appears, ready to identify, but these aren t fish we know. Mackerel, he says, his words escaping in bubbles that I can hear. But the fish aren t mackerel. Not bream, not any of the names we offer. They re pure silver. An unidentified species, we say as we watch them fold and unfold around us. The water has the texture of sadness: salt and heat and memory.

 

Cal is in the room when I wake. He s milky--skinned in the darkness, dripping of ocean. Impossible, but so real I smell salt and apple gum. So real I see the scar on his right foot -a long--healed cut from glass on the beach. He s talking about the dream fish: pure silver, unidentified, and gone.

 

The room is dark except for the moonlight. I feel through the air for the dream, but instead I touch the ears of Cal s Labrador, Woof. He follows me everywhere since the funeral, a long line of black I can t shake.

 

Usually, he sleeps on the end of my bed or in the doorway of my room, but for the last two nights he s slept in front of my packed suitcases. I can t take him with me. You re an ocean dog. I run my finger along his nose. You d go mad in the city.

 

There s no sleeping after dreams of Cal, so I pull on clothes and climb out the window. The moon is three--quarters empty. The air is as hot as day. I mowed late yesterday, so I collect warm blades of grass on the soles of my feet as I move.

 

Woof and I get to the beach quickly. There s almost nothing between our house and the water. There s the road, a

Cath Crowley

"Original, wise, and essential. . . . This love story is an ode to words and life." Kirkus Reviews, starred review 

"This poignant tale exquisitely chronicles the journey from hopelessness to learning to live again." School Library Journal, starred review 

"...Crowley has built a warm cast of surprising and memorable characters and placed them in universal circumstances that slowly unfold into something extraordinary." Booklist, starred review 

"Reading Words in Deep Blue feels a little bit like a slow dance, or falling in love, or swimming in the ocean on a rainy day. It's a stunning reminder of the power of words and books and stories that will leave your heart full and heavy and hungry for more. Cath Crowley is magic."  Krystal Sutherland, author of Our Chemical Hearts

"A big-hearted, stunner of a novel. Cath Crowley's gorgeous prose will make you both tear up and swoon. A beautifully honest meditation on grief and love. Jasmine Warga, author of My Heart and Other Black Holes

"Words In Deep Blue is beautifully written. Laced with humor and poignancy, tragedy and joy, this story will break your heart and then piece it back together." Emma Mills, author of First & Then and This Adventure Ends


Praise for Graffiti Moon:
 
The character development is strong. . . . It s the kind of night you dream about, but it s very much grounded in reality. Buzzfeed.com
 
Laced with humor and sadness, longing and joy, this slice of life is satisfying and hopeful. Booklist
 
Richly and affectingly expressed. . . . [An] engrossing story with credible complexity. Publishers Weekly
 
An ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book
 
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book for Teens
 
 
 
Praise for A Little Wanting Song:
 
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