Wave — Diana Farid

Winner of the Cybils Award for Poetry Novel, Diana Farid's Wave is a coming-of-age novel in verse set in 1980s Southern California, about a Persian American girl who rides the waves, falls, and finds her way back to the shore, illustrated by Kris Goto.
 
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book 2022
A Golden Poppy Finalist for Mirrors & Windows and Middle Grade
 
Thirteen-year-old Ava loves to surf and to sing. Singing and reading Rumi poems settle her mild OCD, and catching waves with her best friend, Phoenix, lets her fit in -- her olive skin looks tan, not foreign.
 
But then Ava has to spend the summer before ninth grade volunteering at the hospital to follow in her single mother's footsteps to become a doctor. And when Phoenix's past lymphoma surges back, not even surfing, singing, or poetry can keep them afloat, threatening Ava's hold on the one place and the one person that make her feel like she belongs.
 
With ocean-like rhythm and lyricism, Wave is about a girl who rides the waves, tumbles, and finds her way back to the shore.
 
“Raw and powerful, this free verse novel honestly explores issues of identity, culture, grief, and hope . . . Rich, layered, and heart-rending.” -- Kirkus Reviews