Here Beside the Rising Tide

Emily Jane’s very funny debut novel, On Earth as It Is on Television, was one of my favorite books two years ago, and I frequently recommend it to people who want something hilarious yet also poignant about what it means to be human (despite the fact that it’s about aliens). Her follow-up, Here Beside the Rising Tide, is in a similar vein, as there’s something maybe alien-like out in the water off Pearl Island, the childhood home of 10-year-old Jenni. She spends a glorious summer with a kid named Timmy who loves carnivals and swimming and general kid stuff just like her and isn’t in a hurry to grow up. But then Timmy disappears into the water…and somehow reappears 30 years later, still 10 years old, while Jenni is going through a divorce, trying to finish the latest in her successful romance novel series, renovating her late mother’s home, letting her kids eat way too much sugar, and flirting with a hunky contractor who may or may not be flirting back. Meanwhile, Timmy tries to get her to help him save the world. As a solo parent with far too much on her plate this summer, how can she say no to her old friend?