Luca, Son of the Morning

The water is warm ... but can you be in too deep?

Luca loves reggae, hates his parents' rum habit, and wishes his dad could get a proper job. He also loves Gaby (though he'd never admit it to her face) so upsetting her is enough to push him into a dark place. Retreating to the local beach, as he always does when he can't sleep, watching the waves gives his life some sort of rhythm.

One night, as he lets the tide lull him, a group of figures emerge from the water and walk past him, unseeing. Spellbound by these impossible sea-men, Luca holds nightly vigils at the beach. Until one night the sailors beckon him to follow them back into the sea...

For fans of Mark Haddon and Neil Gaiman, Luca, Son of the Morning is a haunting book about imagination, delusion and the grey places in between.