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    The Highest Tide: A Novel
    The Highest Tide: A Novel
    The Highest Tide: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Highest Tide: A Novel

    Written by Jim Lynch

    Narrated by Fisher Stevens

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A spellbinding first novel about a young boy's fascination with the wonders of the seashore during a summer that will change
    his life.
    One moonlit night, thirteen-year-old Miles O'Malley slips out of his house, packs up his kayak and goes exploring on the flats of Puget Sound. But what begins as an ordinary hunt for starfish, snails, and clams is soon transformed by an astonishing sight: a beached giant squid. As the first person to ever see a giant squid alive, the speed-reading Rachel Carson-obsessed insomniac instantly becomes a local curiosity. When he later finds a rare deepwater fish in the tidal waters near his home, and saves a dog from drowning, he is hailed as a prophet. The media hovers and everyone wants to hear what Miles has to say.

    But Miles is really just a teenager on the verge of growing up, infatuated with the girl next door, worried that his bickering parents will divorce, and fearful that everything, even the bay he loves, is shifting from him. While the sea continues to offer up discoveries from its mysterious depths, Miles struggles to deal with the difficulties that attend the equally mysterious process of growing up. In this unforgettable, beguiling novel, we witness the dramatic sea change for both Miles and the coastline that he adores over the course of a summer—one that will culminate with the highest tide in fifty years.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateSep 8, 2005
    ISBN9781593978280
    The Highest Tide: A Novel
    Author

    Jim Lynch

    Jim Lynch is the author of three novels, The Highest Tide, Border Songs and Truth Like The Sun. Before becoming a full-time novelist Lynch wrote for newspapers throughout the Northwest and beyond, winning the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, the George Polk Award and other national honors. He now lives in Olympia, Washington with his wife and daughter.

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    Reviews for The Highest Tide

    4/5

    32 ratings29 reviews

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    • 3/5
      THE HIGHEST TIDE reveals a boy's wonder at the splendors of nature found in his bayside tidal marsh.Friendships are beautifully delivered in contrasting dialogues, from those with his sex-obsessed pal to his former babysitter, now the love of his life, and to Florence, the injured best friend who he cares for.What is missing is ANY compassion that the13 year old boy would be expected to feelfor all the animals he "collects" and sells as specimens for experimentation and to restaurant owners.
    • 4/5
      A combination coming of age story and a marine biology lesson, it works well on both counts. This was an easy entertaining book., which refreshingly did not claim climate change was responsible, thank god!
    • 4/5
      I loved this book. The narrator's voice, the feeling of a single summer in his coming of age, the incredible things he discovers, the lessons he learns... it all came together very well, and was both highly entertaining and truly original. Set intricately in the Puget Sound, in the Pacific Northwest.
    • 5/5
      Miles O’Malley is 13 and knows more about the sea life of Puget Sound than most experts. His innocence and anonymity are under attack after he finds two rare sea creatures one summer and becomes an object of media interest. He fears his parents are divorcing, he’s in love with the wild older girl next door, and his elderly neighbor, who Miles would describe as his best friend in the world, is dying. The tidal and sea life of the Sound are so prominent as to be another character. As in his second novel, “Border Songs,” Jim Lynch creates an entire world by melding nature and characters to create a story where they become inseparable.
    • 5/5
      Audiobook review: Miles is a hopeless seashore geek but his genuine enthusiasm for the life that washes onto Puget Sound shores inevitably draws us into its wonders. Reader Fisher Stevens does a great job voicing Miles' passion for marine life, an interest that anchors him in an otherwise bumbling adolescence. Lib notes: swearing, boys' graphic but funny discussions about sex, some drug use
    • 3/5
      Miles O'Malley is a precocious and bookish 13-year-old with a passion for marine life. He lives in Olympia, WA, in what we locals call the "South Sound" region, and he knows more about marine animals, especially those living in the shallows and the mud flats created by low tides, than most of us will ever even hear about. He has a crush on the girl next door, who is older and used to babysit for him, and his best friend is a horny, rude, somewhat "typical" 13-year-old (who turns out to have a good heart when all is said and done). His other best friend is an elderly lady with rapidly progressing Parkinson's and a fierce self-reliant streak. His parents are considering a divorce. You know. Early adolescence at its most classic. Miles finds a Giant Squid on the flats one day and the rest is, as they say, history. His discoveries of several rare marine life finds in the mud flats that summer lead to uncomfortable fame, disillusionment, and redemption. He is possibly Rachel Carson's greatest fan and a quote (not confirmed by me) from her acceptance speech for the National Book Award is a shining moment in the narrative: "If there is poetry in my book about the sea it is not because I deliberately put it there but because no one could write truthfully about the sea and leave out poetry." Fair enough. Another quote worth sharing is from Florence, the fiercely independent old woman who sees and admires Miles more genuinely than anyone else: "Life is something you do alone, Miles. You can only help and be helped but so much." That resonated for me. I know the South Sound mud flats about which Jim Lynch has written. His evocation of the setting, including the town of Olympia, was true and enjoyable. For one who knows the region and has walked along those mud flats. I'm not sure it would translate effectively for someone who is unfamiliar with the idiosyncrasies of the flora, the fauna, the weather, and the atmosphere of the South Puget Sound region. The book has shining moments but Lynch's storytelling is too specific. If you've never been to the South Sound region, this is not the book to sell you on a visit. If you have, and if you love it, or even if you just think it's interesting, this book is a worthwhile read.
    • 4/5
      “I was a fluke in a classroom full of flukes on a planet overpopulated by flukes.” This is a beautifully evocative coming of age story. Who as a child has not visited rock pools along the beach turning stones with a net and bucket and marvelled what was lying beneath? Well this is a book that rekindles those halcyon days.Miles O'Malley is something of the class freak preferring to spend time on the local mud flats rather than playing with school friends or on computers etc spending every moment that he can out there unfettered by parental control. He loves to read about marine life and a famous ecologist Rachel Carson is his heroine. He has an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of marine life within his bay collecting and selling clams that he digs up to a local restaurant and other more exotic marine life to local aquariums. Then one summer just before his 14th birthday he discovers a giant squid, normally only found in the ocean depths, along with some other discoveries along the way,saves a dog's and a friend's life and suddenly fame and cult celebrity is thrown his way. When asks 'why is he the only one making these discoveries?' he answers with childish ignorance 'because he is probably the only one looking' so we see the curiosity of youth but he is also a lad going through puberty He soon realises that his life is changing in unimagined ways. His parents are discussing divorce, his best friend an old woman psychic is dying of a variant of Parkinsons and the girl whom he worships from afar ODs. Thus he is forced to face some very grown up aspects. However,there are also some elements of humour which did not make me laugh out loud but did make me smile.This is quite an easy read but that is not to say that it is not well written because it is and I felt that the character development particularly Mile's relationship with his parents is well done. This is a charming book and a reminder of our own long lost youth.
    • 4/5
      The truest stories are always fiction, it seems to me, and few are better than this wonderful first novel by Jim Lynch. This book was recommended to me by an extremely knowledgeable bookseller in a small, independent bookstore in Edmonds, Washington on a recent visit to the San Juan Islands on a sea kayaking trip. The descriptions of marine biology in this book are compelling, but what keeps the fast-paced story moving is how much you like the narrator, 13-year-old Miles O'Malloy. I can't wait to get back to the Northwest to see all the things I missed the first time.
    • 4/5
      I know it's not an exact science, but I was very surprised this is shelved in YA at my local library. It's one of those coming of age stories that is very lyrical and contemplative and, I assume, of more interest to adults.Anyway, this is a story about a young boy living in the Pacific Northwest who spends his spare time exploring the tidal pools of Puget Sound (alas there was no singing of Cheyenne or any chickens). Miles begins making discoveries of unusual wildlife, bringing an alarming amount of media attention to his neighborhood. While all of this is going on, he is cultivating a crush on the teenage girl next door (his former babysitter) and also maintains interesting relationships with some of the local characters.It reminded me a little of L'Engle in the approach to presenting the ecology of the tide pools in an eloquent and loving way.Grade: B+Recommended: It's really very good reading, the rambling style occasionally gets out of hand but not too much.
    • 5/5
      Amazing! This is the story of an outcast boy obsessed with the ocean and Rachel Carson.
    • 5/5
      I am not a huge fan of coming-of-age stories (after To Kill A Mockingbird, why bother writing another!) but this one caught my attention because Rachel Carson has a role and my city, Pittsburgh, just named a bridge for her. Also, it takes place on the Washington coast, an area of the US I'm keen on visiting. The story is fast moving and very interesting (lots of marine biology delivered without lecture). A bit too metaphysical in places for my taste, but that is done sort of tongue in cheek and it is easy enough not to take it too seriously. You can't help but love Miles, the protagonist. He is so strangely familiar, perhaps because he is the angst in all of us when on the brink of adulthood. A fine debut novel and I hope the author makes a sophomore effort.
    • 3/5
      The marine science and resultant wonder are the best parts of this over hyped first novel.This is supposed to be told in the voice of an awkward 13 year old boy. The author crowds to the front on nearly every page. For example, in one set piece the narrator and friends call a 900 number to ask some basic sex questions, then 25 pages later the same narrator describes a retreating tide as a slow striptease. (?). End paper maps of the area described in the novel would have been helpful. A disappointment.
    • 4/5
      A tale of a 13-year-old boy's magical summer on the mud flats off the coast of Washington. The summer is filled with unusual discoveries, including a giant squid. A good dose of marine biology tied with a touching coming of age story.
    • 4/5
      The kid was engaging, his environ interesting, the biology lessons impressive, but when it’s all said and done, you have just another scare-you-into-environmentalism story.
    • 4/5
      This is a lyric poem to Puget Sound disguised as a coming of age novel; or a coming of age novel disguised as a panegyric to Puget Sound. Either way, it's beautiful, moving, funny and hopeful.
    • 3/5
      I listened to this book on CD and enjoyed it. I have a special place in my heart for the Pacific North West and it's tidal pools so I appreciated the detailed descriptions of sea life.
    • 5/5
      This book was such a sweet break from all the heavy topics surrounding me (Racism, Covid-19, parents with Dementia) and I loved it. Miles is a young boy who absolutely lives for his daily ocean shoreline discoveries. That and his crush on his next door neighbor. And his best friend, the elderly housebound woman. He is awkward and utterly brilliant and I loved the mix of wry humor, human connections, and the beauty of tidal marshes and its strange inhabitants. As Miles makes astonishing discovery after discovery, the local news station takes note and he soon becomes a celebrity, whether he wants to be or not. It didn't hurt that the book takes place in the state next door to me, Washington.
    • 5/5
      I feared this book might be a bit dull, but it was a fantastic read. Not only was it funny - laugh out loud in places - and full of interesting characters, I now know one hundred percent more about giant squid than I did before reading it. Okay so I knew they had one eye but didn't realise it was the size of a hubcap.Highly recommended, even if you're not into marine life.
    • 3/5
      I think this book is a lot of things at the same time: funny, honest, mythical, sad, disturbing and realistic.I picked it up because it was described as being a cross between Haddon and Martel, which sounded interesting enough.Miles is a very amiable hero and he is portrayed perfectly. I laughted out loud at his logical observations. The other characters were also memorable. In short, this book is a recommendation to anyone.
    • 4/5
      The Highest Tide is a love story on several levels. Superficially, it is about the romantic love thirteen year old Miles O’Malley feels for his former babysitter Angie; his caring love for his older neighbor Florence; his comradely love for his friend Kenny Phelps; and his conflicted love for his parents and their conflicted love for each other. But overarching them all is a love for the beauty of life in the sea, and how much there is to see around you if only you take the time to look.This lovely paean to marine life turns tidepools into treasure chests, as we accompany Miles on his nightly collecting forays into Skookumchuck Bay in Puget Sound. We learn about the dazzling beauty of the Nudibranch, the mating habits of barnacles, the defensive strategies of sea cucumbers, and the nesting patterns of butterfly squids. We become acquainted with the addictions of razor clams, the male parenting skills of sea horses, the navigational hazards of sand dollars and survival tactics of sand fleas. No dry encyclopedia is this, but rather a picture book of words that evokes such images as “pulsing moon jellies” in “an endless gaggle of fringed, see-through flowers packed so tightly together… they changed the texture and color of the bay in the silvery glare of the forgotten sun.” Miles escapes to the sea when he feels troubled: …”it was hard for me to feel fear or sadness at dawn on that bay, especially when I knew the sun wouldn’t set for another fifteen hours and thirty-two minutes, and the water was so clear I could see coon-stripe shrimp in the eelgrass near the tavern and the bottomless bed of white clam shells pooled across the sunken tip of Penrose Point.”In this summer that marks Miles’ coming of age, the transmutations that come into his life are echoed by the changes in the ocean, yet Miles understands that it is all part of an ever-flowing process; that life is both unique and timeless. From his study of Rachel Carson, he learns the lesson to “see as much as you can see.” Adults, caught up in their long “to-do lists” tend to forget the beauty and magnificence of nature, and even, of each other.
    • 4/5
      “See as much as you can see, I guess. Rachel Carson said most of us go through life "unseeing." I do that some days...I think it's easier to see when you're a kid. We're not in a hurry to get anywhere and we don't have those long to-do lists you guys have.” “...that's the nature of marine life and the inland bays I grew up on. You'd have to be a scientist, a poet and a comedian to hope to describe it all accurately, and even then you'd often fall short.” Miles O’Malley is a smart, gifted thirteen year old. He is an only child living with indifferent parents and he finds solace and wonder exploring the tidal flats of Puget Sound. One day he discovers a rare giant squid, washed up with the tide. He becomes a bit of a celebrity with locals and the scientific community. This is a coming of age novel, as Miles tries to grapple with approaching adulthood and understanding the mysteries of his beloved ocean and the warning signs it has been projecting. Lynch is a good writer but this one doesn’t quite reach the heights of his classic Border Songs. I still recommend it.
    • 5/5
      The central character, Miles, sums up what his heroine Rachel Carson has to say about the sea (and life) :"She has this one quote I really like in Edge of the Sea about how our search for the meaning of life draws usto the tidal flats: ' It sends us back to the edge of the sea, where the drama of life played its first scene on earth and perhaps even its prelude; where the forces of evolution are at work today, as they have been since the appearance of what we know as life; and where the spectacle of living creatures faced by the cosmic realities of their world is crystal clear.' And then she later says, 'So the present is linked with the past and future, and each living thing with all that surrounds it."Yet Miles suffers cofusion in his thoughts. In an interview he says: "I try not to ask myself impossible questions." I was winging it. I'd never held that thought or the one that came after it. "We don't even understand everything that can go on in a drop of saltwater, so it makes sense to me that we can't understand everything."A final Rachel Carson quote from The Sea Around Us summarizes Miles for me:"In its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins of life and receives in the end, after, it may be, many transmutations of dead husks of that same life. For all at last return to the sea –- to Oceanus, the river ocean, like the ever flowing stream of time, the beginning and the end."THis is a truly worthwhile first novel, if you want to fill in the blanks... go get The Highest Tide and reseve some hours to read this through.
    • 4/5
      Nifty read if you enjoy lots of detailed descriptions of ocean creatures. I listened to the book on CD and found the reader slightly irritating, but otherwise very enjoyable.
    • 1/5
      purchased in Nantucket, read two or three chapters.. unimpressed.
    • 3/5
      Interesting if slow story of a 13-year old boy fascinated with the bay he lives beside and the sea creatures he finds there. Anyone interested in sea life would love this book. To me it was a bit slow, with little story to keep you reading.
    • 3/5
      A decent book, but over-hyped
    • 3/5
      I found this book as a book crossing book in Santa Monica, the WaterGarden, a beautiful office park. It sat in my TBR pile for a while and I recently got around to reading it. I enjoyed the book, especially the details on aquatic life. The author really brought the wonder and beauty of living along the coast alive. I was reminded of my own childhood summers spent on Cape Cod, spending hours and hours wading through tidal pools.

      The characters were well drawn, and I was interested in how many likable characters there were. There were a few characters I thought were going to turn into "villains" but by the end only one character could be characterized as such and was barely in the book. The book ended on a hopeful note, but not such a happy ending you couldn't believe it. No big revelations or thought provoking scenes, but a pleasant way to the pass the time and a quick read.
    • 5/5
      The Highest Tide feels just like a book set on the coast of Washington state should feel -- crisp, clean, fresh, pulsating with life and light on water. Miles O'Malley, the 13 year old narrator, understands all the intricacies of marine life but struggles with the intricacies of the human relationships around him. I can't wait to read more Jim Lynch!
    • 4/5
      Miles is a thirteen year old boy living on the shores of Puget Sound. He’s a kid that notices things – and has developed an eye for both marine edibles such as clams that he can sell to restaurants and to unusual specimens that he can sell to aquariums.And then one day he finds a giant squid, which becomes the center of scientific interest. Shortly afterwards he finds other marine life that really shouldn’t be there, washed up from the ocean depths onto the shoreline. Absurdly. he finds himself the darling of a cult and also the center of media frenzy. At the same time, he is finding his way with his own friends. One of them is an elderly woman whom he helps to stay in her home. She also seems to have special knowledge of the sound and the ocean tides.This is an interesting coming-of-age novel set in a novel environment. The setting is more than a character in this novel – the sound determines the lives of its human and nonhuman inhabitants.4 stars. I could feel the salt on my tongue as I read it.