In A GALAXY OF WHALES, Fern faces a summer of challenges and changes. Her family’s whale watching business is struggling and her best friend Ivy seems to be drifting away. In hopes of making Ivy jealous, amateur photographer Fern decides to team up with Jasper, her neighbor and the son of another whale watching company in competition with her family, to win a newspaper’s photography contest. The duo decides to capture a photograph of the pod of orcas in the water near their home. As they collaborate on the competition, their friendship changes.
Fern’s awkwardness is endearing as the book provides a realistic portrayal of the changing dynamics that are common in middle school friendships. Fern’s family includes a delightful assortment of characters who support Fern as they all continue to adjust to the recent loss of Fern’s father. With the characters’ pursuit of the perfect whale photo for the competition, the book also incorporates themes of environmental stewardship and conservation in an organic way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing an eARC of the book with me.

A tender story that deals with loss, rivalry, and living in a small town. The humor that is found throughout the the book will draw readers in.

11-year-old Fern’s father passed away three years ago. Living with her mother, her friendship with her friend, Ivy isn’t going well. To help copy, Fern tries to feel closer to her father by doing photography. Her family owns a whale sight-seeing tour company, but they aren’t the only one in town. Next door to her mother, lives the neighbor boy, Jasper, whose family owns the other whale sight-seeing tour company. Struggling to keep the company going, this creates more and more problems for Fern and Jasper. To make her friend, Ivy, jealous she decided to team up with Jasper to try and win a photo contest. Trying to capture a winning photo of a pregnant whale with her soon to be baby is their goal. Can Jasper and Fern succeed? Will Ivy and Fern ever make up as friends?

The plot is endearing, well written, and handles well the frustrations of navigating friendships. The characters are likable, realistic, and easy to relate to. Readers who like realistic fiction, friendship fiction, and books about photography will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections. 4 stars, Gr 3 through 7

Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

A Galaxy of Whales by Heather Fawcett is a middle grade novel that does a great job showing the ups and downs of friendship. Fern and Ivy have always been inseparable until this summer. Fern doesn’t understand what changed and wants to make Ivy jealous by participating in a photography contest with Jasper (formerly her arch nemesis). Instead, Fern ends up making a new friend and realizing that it’s ok to have more than one friend and not do everything together.

This would be a great book for a read aloud as it would be a perfect opportunity to address friendship and how they can change. There is also the underlying theme of the whales and how they are endangered because of what humans are doing to their habitat. It would also be a great addition to an elementary or middle school library!