Set in the South Pacific, this debut novel is “a brilliant, discordant, and vulnerable picture of running away to sea and coming of age” (Matthew P. Murphy, editor, WoodenBoat magazine).
It’s been two years since fifteen-year-old Gabe’s father uprooted his family and left the United States to sail around the world. The wanderlust ended in the islands of Ma’atea, where Gabe feels every bit the outsider. Until he meets two other palagis: a headstrong boy named Lloyd and the beguiling Tanya. Together they form an unbreakable bond—out of love, boredom, and the need for self-discovery. Gabe’s restlessness leads to quiet rebellions at first, full of flirtations with a burgeoning sexuality. But when he fears being suspected of a serious crime, he and his friends decide to flee Tongu Tongu. Their escape is Plumbelly, a twenty-nine-foot sloop that will be their refuge as they make their way toward the groundswells of the Pacific, to be carried into perils worse than they ever imagined.
