The ­Uncertainty Principle

Gr 7 Up–Sailing the Caribbean may sound like a dream, but not for 17-year-old Mia. Her parents decided to uproot the family and live on their boat after an incident Mia caused in her school cafeteria. They feel they made the best decision ever for their family, especially her germaphobe mother, but Mia feels she is being held hostage. Her only hope is to build a satellite phone to call home and fix the problems she’s left behind. On her family’s journey, she meets two teenagers, Alby and Nisha, who turn her world upside down, and Mia finds friendship and maybe more at sea. Though slow to start, Mia’s journey is a wonderful tale of self-discovery and tackling the relationships one has in life. With the introduction of Nisha, Mia begins to understand her sexuality in a way that is true to teens who haven’t yet figured out how to approach their feelings. Mia and her mother each face personal obstacles, and the authors respectfully tackle them, including in their growth. Elements of sailing and science are woven into the story in a way that readers familiar or not with them will enjoy.