Swimming with the Whales

"[An] intimate, eloqent novel."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)"When you are fourteen, you may swim with the whales," Papa had said. "I'll go with you and give you my blessing. . . ."Paolo and his father, a naturalist, live in a beautiful, isolated village in the Argentian region of Patagonia, where they spend their time exploring the land around them and the unusual animals who live there. But Paolo's dream of swimming with the whales will have to wait another year, as his life begins to take some unexpected turns. Paolo's father wants to send him away to San Francisco for a year to live with his mother. And his best friend, Luis, has suddenly become mean and difficult. Then an American family comes to the village and Paolo falls for Samantha, a nice girl his own age. But when Luis meets her, she seems to change too! Now Paolo is lonelier than ever--until one day when he discovers the strength he never thought he had, a strength that will help him to love and to let go. . . . "The relationships . . . are convincingly complex and human."--School Library Journal