Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Dead Sea 

SERIES:  Mia Kerick Story Ballads

AUTHOR:  Mia Kerick

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  271 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 3, 2021

BLURB:

Kyle is a swaggering bully; Lenny strives to be invisible.

Kyle has been left alone in the world; Lenny is the world’s biggest loner.
When Kyle saves Lenny from drowning, their lives will never be the same.
After a brutal encounter with school bullies, Lenny swims out into the ocean, determined to let the current whisk him away. Next thing he knows the meanest kid in town is pulling him from the waves, promising to be his Dead Sea, and to never let him sink.

All Kyle wants is to get out of beach cleanup, is that too much to ask? So he goes for a swim, only to come upon the most epic “nobody” in the senior class drowning in a riptide. Lenny’s haunted gaze grips him, and Kyle makes the impulsive decision to save his life or die trying. And through this ordeal, Kyle and Lenny are transformed.

Kyle’s heroic act sets him on the straight and narrow, and he opens his heart to the young man he dragged from the ocean. Lenny changes too but is still unable to reveal the truth of his pain. While drowning in a sea of secrets, the reformed bully and wary victim fall in love. But staying afloat in the Dead Sea is not as simple as it seems.

Trigger warning: one character attempts unsuccessfully to die by suicide as is noted in the blurb, further discussion of death by suicide

REVIEW:

Lenny has been bullied during high school despite his desire to be invisible.  He’s got his mom who loves but doesn’t understand him.  His perception of himself is that he is a longer, his father left, he doesn’t have any friends and that he is broken.  When he’s threatened by two of the biggest bullies in school in what should have been his safe space, it’s the last straw for him and the end of his anonymity.

When Lenny decides he might not want to face whatever torture the bullies have for him, he for a split second, think he could make it so that he won’t have to ever again worry about it.  But when Kyle, the meanest bully of them all, saves him, he doesn’t understand.  But he doesn’t fit it because really he realize he made a mistake.  But if Lenny is saved, Kyle is transformed.  The Kyle who saved Lenny is not the Kyle who swam out into the ocean that day.

When Kyle’s act of heroism is revealed, things change for him.  He realizes that something’s gotta give.  His life is a total mess and he’s tired of his “pals” – who just happen to be the ones threatening Lenny.  As Lenny and Kyle spend more time together, it’s clear that there is something more between them.  And they are really saving each other.  Of course the road isn’t smooth, but maybe together, they can find a way forward.

I will say that initially I really struggled with this story.  It’s been a while since I’ve read YA.  I actually binge-watched Fate: The Wynx Saga recently and I found it very frustrating and emo.  I just kept thinking “who the hell has been parenting these kids, because they are failing miserably.”  It was all a bit Lord of the Flies.  I didn’t really relate to teenagers when I was one (was always old – even at 7 years old), so I think that hindered my capacity for understanding some of the extreme actions and reactions of the characters.  I struggled a bit with Kyle’s complete about face – not that I don’t believe that a traumatic event can illicit real behavioral change – because it seem like such a 180 in the space of a few minutes.  And perhaps that’s the reality of a near death experience.  That being said, I really felt for both Kyle and Lenny.  Neither had ideal home situations.  Do parents really let children install locks on their bedroom doors and on their closet doors inside their houses?  I can see parents removing the doors if that was the case without some real legitimate reasons.  Discussions would be had and boundaries established, but I doubt I would have lived to tell that tale 😉

This is a story about acceptance for both Lenny and Kyle.   They learn to accept themselves in terms of their sexuality and their desires.  Kyle has to learn to accept that he will not be able to have a relationship with his mother.   Some people are just toxic and even if they are part of your family, ties must be cut. It really sucks when at 18 that becomes a reality.  Lenny has to accept that everything is not about him – something that is usually difficult for children because they do see themselves as the center of everything without that perspective that comes from age and experience.  His assumption that the break in his family was about one thing and not another is set to rights, but damage had been done.  He has to accept that he needs to be more honest about his feelings  He’s been hiding in plain sight for so long, he’s misrepresented himself to the people who would accept him the most.

All in all, I did really like this book.  I think Mia Kerick has a great style that really conveys the urgency of the emotions and struggles people go through.  My guess is that her experience with teenagers and young people has informed this story – much better than I could ever do as an old soul without children 😉  Kyle and Lenny both broke my heart in different ways.  I thought supporting characters – particularly Lenny’s friends Gus and Elena, Kyle and Lenny’s mothers (who could NOT have been more different) and some of the teachers/principals were well written also.  My own experiencer with bullies is more along the mean girls arena – from like 4th grade (and yes, I still remember her name and what she said to me) but I thankfully have not experienced/seen the kind of behavior exhibited in this book.  Sadly I feel like it might be more common than I think it is 🙁   Supportive involved parents and schools can only do so much and it seems like so much hinges on coping mechanisms and strategies and being able to communicate what’s going on and eliminating shame.  It seems Brene Brown’s work will never be done 🙂

Definitely recommended particularly for those who like YA stories and stories about overcoming adversity and bullies.  I hope Lenny and Kyle get their Happily Ever After – either with each other or individually in their lives.

RATING: 

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