A review by thebluemuse
Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I found this book because it was featured as a “staff pick” at an independent bookstore I wandered into while traveling (Raven Book Store in Lawrence, KS). Indie bookstore recs are almost always fabulous, and I was drawn in by the title, Curious Tides, which seemed perfect since I was on the hunt for a beach read for an upcoming vacation by the sea. Then I opened the book, flipped through and saw the gorgeous design of the hardcover edition, with its charming illuminated front matter and the dark interludes between sections. It was one of those moments where the universe sends you the right book at the right time. 

When I tell you, I devoured this 500+ page book, I am not kidding. I love a story of a self-conscious, self doubting star, who comes into the realization of the true power of their magic and then must test its application. I mean that magic both literally and figuratively in the case of Curious Tides. The magic is real in this book, and it is so beautifully interwoven with the coming-of-age characters—their identities as humans, not just as magical beings.

And I know I’m reading in for some of this, but for this Gen X reader, I could not help but read this story as a parable of any later-in-life realization—not just coming-of-age but coming into the true knowledge of self, whether that’s accepting one’s shadow self and integrating, or understanding, unmasking, and supporting one’s neurodivergent brain and nervous system. Having been on a journey of self knowledge of my own, the story not only swept me up in the tides of this mysterious and beautiful narrative, but offered an empowering framework of metaphors: time, empowerment through authenticity, learning to integrate (rather than fear) the shadow self, trusting your body’s somatic wisdom, learning to hear your intuition, and so on. When we first learn something new about ourselves, when we come into knowledge (like a late diagnosis of adhd—both our magic and our curse), we spend a lot of the grieving process reflecting on time—reviewing key moments in our past through this new lens of knowledge, coming to understanding, learning to forgive ourselves for misreading or misunderstanding our own needs and how we interacted with others due to lack of self understanding. We wish for the ability to pull at the threads of time, to stop, reverse and revisit those “mistakes,” to revise the traumatic history our new insight would have kept us safe from. But we cannot, and must find the ways to live as our whole selves regardless. 

Suffice it to say, the book was healing for me, and perhaps a bit for my inner child as well. I don’t typically read YA fiction, which this is technically classified as by the publisher. But lately I’ve found a handful of texts, like Curious Tides, that I feel could be classics and certainly have reach beyond this classification. 

I haven’t focused on many details of the story here because I don’t want to spoil it, but I’ll say that this book is 100% worth the read. I have no doubt that many readers will, like me, find metaphors that connect to their own journey. This is the kind of book that will speak to you wherever you are and will possibly unveil a bit of your own magic! The story has beautiful dark academia vibes, a stunning setting, a great diversity of characters and relationships (lqbtqia+ are well-represented), and the hardcover volume is beautifully crafted and executed. I’ve just seen a sequel is forthcoming and I cannot wait to read it. 


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