Reviewed by Ms. Merrigan
Gabe and his two brothers have never quite fit in. His older brother has ADHD and immerses himself in making art out of garbage he collects, while his younger brother shouts "whee-yuh! whee-yuh!" when he gets excited. Gabe himself has a hard time getting along with his classmates and prefers to play an ocean exploration video game and build his new aquarium. Gabe is concerned that he and his brothers are crazy, that he is the "difficult child" that is the subject of a book his mother is reading. This coming-of-age novel follows Gabe as he learns to dive below the things that bother him and to find his skills and talents in swimming, computers, and, perhaps, movie production.
The characters are charming and the situations that Gabe finds himself in ring true. But Gabe's narration of his emotional growth - from the edgy child unable to avoid conflict to a maturing young man able to accept imperfections in himself and others - seems unrealistic in its articulate self-recognition.
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