This was a random find at the bookstore, which is why I’m such a proponent of wandering around and checking the sections I like once a month or so. You never know! Sea Legs is a middle grade graphic memoir that details Janey’s life on board her parents’ schooner. When the book opens, they’ve spent some time in Florida saving up money so they can start traveling again. Janey has enjoyed being in place long enough to go to school and has made a best friend, Rae, whom she’s sad to leave behind. They resolve to stay in touch, but since it’s 1995, long distance phone calls are out of the question and Janey has to wait for letters to make their way to her slowly. While she’s on the boat, she’s homeschooled by her mother. Being in close quarters causes tensions in the family as the journey progresses, and Janey is desperate to be around kids her own age. They dock for a while in St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands) to make some more money, and Janey befriends Astrid, who lives on a boat right by them in the bay.
Astrid ends up getting Janey into some dangerous and scary situations, and Janey has to learn how to stand up for herself and how to navigate a challenging friendship. Astrid’s father is emotionally abusive to her and she is alone on the boat with him and her two little siblings, doing her best to keep them safe. He tells her that she’s too stupid to do school and denies her the opportunity to do homeschooling or any school at all. The book has a panel that to me suggested she was being sexually abused and that scene was particularly frightening, with Janey missing the cues that Astrid’s father is a dangerous person to be around. I thought that the portrayal of Astrid’s anger spilling out onto Janey was well done and made a lot of sense — Astrid is jealous of Janey’s safe and loving parents and her going to school, and is enraged that Janey complains about conflicts with her mom when Astrid wishes she could have any adult around that could take care of her. Janey does not tell her mom about this because Astrid is terrified she’ll be separated from her siblings and begs her not to let anyone know about her situation.
I understand that this is a memoir and am old enough to know that in 1995 especially, you would just lose touch with people and not be able to find them again. That being said, the ending felt abrupt and I was so concerned about Astrid that how her storyline ended was not satisfying to me. It felt like whiplash to go from this very serious storyline with child abuse and a devastating hurricane to a broad message of hope in two or three pages. I also get that this is her lived experience and she says in the afterward that it was positive thing for her to spend this time living on the boat, but it didn’t seem great from how she portrays it! Her parents are fighting, her mom is mad at her, she’s lonely and scared and sad, she nearly dies, her friend also nearly dies — I am a free range sort of person but I did think maybe these kids should be on land!
All in all, an interesting read and one I’m glad I picked up, but this didn’t sell me on taking to the seas. This is aimed at middle grade, I think, but it’s honestly very serious and frightening throughout so might be better aimed at the more emotionally more child who’s ready for more intense topics. I do think that kids need books like this that deal with frightening and morally ambiguous scenarios, and this would be helpful to someone who is going through something serious, especially with friends.