Anxious thirteen-year-old Kaya has always been afraid of everythingbut when she learns she is the descendant of a Chinese water goddess, shell have to master herself to master her powers!

On the surface, thirteen-year-old Kaya leads a charmed life. She lives in beautiful, beachy Lihiwai. She has ride-or-die best friends. Shes ultrasmart and killing it at school. She even works with a super-cute boy at her parents restaurant.

But she also has anxietyserious anxiety, the kind that makes you scratch and pickand shes always had bad luck around the ocean. Its hard to enjoy Hawaiian beaches when youve almost drowned more than once.

But as stranger and stranger things happen to Kaya around the sea, she realizes thatwanted or notshe has a special connection to it. Waves rise when shes angry. Surf smooths when shes calm. Fish come when she calls them. And when she learns the truth about her family and her divine ancestor, Mazu, she knows that she will need to connect with her most difficult emotions ASAPor her potent powers may become dangerous to the people she loves.

Kaya of the Ocean is an exciting, fresh, and beautiful middle-grade fantasy about embracing who you really are. This heartfelt adventure of sun, surf, and sand touches on mental health, the immigrant experience, and the complexities of growing up.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
An ABA Indies Introduce Selection
“[A] fantastical debut.”Kirkus Reviews