Wave Watcher

Wave Watcher
Craig Alan Johnson
Bellwood Press
ISBN: 0-87743-707-6
Fiction, Contemporary
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

Wave Watcher is the story of a boy, Ray, and his very special relationships with his family. Ray lives in a particularly close family. His father is a struggling but brilliant writer. Ray’s mother is as nurse and primary wage earner for the family. Then there is Ray’s little brother Louie. Louie has been born with a number of disabilities: a single lung, an enlarged heart, and dyslexia. Despite these challenges, Louie is so normal and so extraordinary that after meeting him people completely forget about his so called disabilities and tend to focus on his extraordinary abilities: his charm, his ability to love completely, and his sharp intelligence.
Ray isn’t without his own special talents. He has inherited his father’s flare for writing and his love of reading. Though Ray sees his brother as the one with the big heart, Ray also shares his brother’s ability to love in extraordinary ways.
Wave Watcher is a beautifully written and touching story. It’s not often that a book has the ability to make me cry and leave me feeling like a better person for having read the story of these characters. Yet, I am having to fight back the tears even as I write this review. I am glad to have met Ray and his family.