Under Water - a moving story about friendship, grief, and the beauty of nature.

When we meet Melissa, it's 2012 and she is living in New York City, working as an editorial assistant and copywriter describing photographs of luxury destinations for a high-end travel magazine. Her thoughts keep taking her back to her childhood. After her mother's passing, her marine biologist father moved them from Manhattan to an island off of Thailand to continue his wife's research on manta rays. At her school in Phuket, Melissa meets Arielle, whose parents run an area hotel. The two girls become the very best of friends, sharing their love of the sea. After a decade of friendship, tragedy strikes on December 26, 2004, when the Indian Ocean tsunami hits the area, claiming Arielle as one of its many victims. Years later, Melissa is consumed with grief and guilt as New York braces for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.

Under Water, Tara Menon's beautiful debut, is a heartbreaking exploration of a young woman's struggle to cope with the loss of a treasured friend and a look back into their exciting adventures growing up and exploring nature. The vivid scenes of Melissa and Arielle's time discovering underwater life showed nature at its best. The aftermath of the tragic tsunami showed nature at its worst. A very moving story.

Many thanks to Riverhead Books for the advance.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars.

Literary Fiction.

Publication Date: March 17, 2026.

Please "like" this post if Under Water sounds like a book you’d enjoy reading. I'd love to know. Scroll below the photo and click on the red outlined heart on the lower right-hand side of the page. Comments can also be left below.