I was interested in this novel because Thad taught me in my freshman year at Pratt Institute. I had and still have very little interest in surfing, and while it encompasses much of the book, it's not the physical act of surfing that makes the story, but the gradual building of love for the sport and then the emptiness that takes its place afterwards. There's something about Thad's writing that so clearly gets across every feeling he has: I found myself carrying a disdain for Pat when there was no truly terrible thing that he did. Then I found myself growing to be quite fond of him, while the writing itself didn't put it into blunt words. Then, when it did, I realized the writing was perfectly invoking in me the correct emotions at every moment. The book turned truly beautiful at the end. There's a lightness to the writing; no one thing is overdramatized, instead it's all quietly lovely.