Sea Sparkle

After the death of her father, a fishing boat captain who perished at sea along with his crew of two, twelve-year-old Lena is utterly at a loss. There are whispers that the accident was the fault of her father, who put to sea when he should have known better. During the funeral, all of a sudden, on a calm sea, the boat is violently shaken. Lena – and only Lena – sees an enormous shadow in the water below. She becomes convinced it’s the very sea monster that has the deaths of her father and his friends on its conscience, but nobody believes her. Along with her new friend Vincent, a landlubber who knows all about the sea, she sets off in search of proof.

‘Sea Sparkle’ is both a thrilling adventure story and a spot-on portrait of a young girl who is struggling to deal with overwhelming grief. Wendy Huyghe depicts the tough Lena and her cautious friendship with Vincent convincingly and movingly. In animated prose she describes Lena’s hard armour, her denial, her willingness to believe in extraordinary things and her eventual confrontation with the monster, which brings a catharsis in her grieving process. A strong and multi-layered debut.