Book cover of A 52-Hertz Whale

Book description

"It appears to be the only individual emitting a call at this frequency and hence, has been described as the world's loneliest whale."―Wikipedia

So here's how it all starts: James, a high school freshman, is worried that the young humpback whale he tracks online has separated from its pod.…

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Why read it?

1 author picked A 52-Hertz Whale as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

After I had published my book, I found out about this interesting book written by two people who had also gone through the same MFA program as me – the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University. Bill Sommer and Natalie Tilghman covered similar topics of young people coming of age by finding connection through nature. A 52-Hertz Whale has an intriguing structure as well – it’s told through a set of conversational emails. The main character is obsessed with whales and when a whale’s life goes awry, he feels unmoored and reaches out for connection to someone who…

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December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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