Murray Out of Water by Taylor Tracy (review)

Reviewed by: Murray Out of Water by Taylor Tracy Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Tracy, Taylor Murray Out of Water. Quill Tree, 2024 400p Trade ed. ISBN 9780063326811 19. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063326835 9. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 4-6 When her older brother Patrick left two years ago after a fight with her parents, Murray took solace in the ocean near their New Jersey home, discovering a magical connection to the sea that allowed her to move the water at her whim. Her power, however, is simply not strong enough to change the course of an incoming hurricane. The storm forces Murray and her family to stay with her aunt and uncle, who were estranged from her parents when they took Patrick in after he told Murray's devout, conservative mom and dad he was gay. Patrick is away at college, but the End Page 298 tension in the house still runs high, especially when Murray becomes closer with Blake, her nonbinary cousin, and their friend Dylan, who isn't at all what Mom thinks a boy should be. Murray's plan to join Dylan in a drag show is disrupted by a furious, nearly irate Mom, who threatens any peace the family has left. The overall plot here is disjointed and unfocused, with threads left hanging and little thematic continuity, and the magical realism element proves especially baffling when Dylan also turns out to have a power with music that is neither explained well nor successfully used as part of his character development. The unmetered verse adds to the scattered feeling, but the imagery is sensory and engaging while Murray's voice is accessible in her awkward fumbling toward agency and identity. Obon's Secrets We Tell the Sea (BCCB 10/23) makes better use of ocean magic, but this still might please fans of Kyle Lukoff and Alex Gino. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois