This book is a joy to read. It is a love story between two individuals in the most traditional sense, but it is also about the love between parent and child, teacher and student, and community as a whole.

Tui Allen is a wonderful story teller. I love her writing style. The cadence of the story itself moves like the dolphins. Sometimes it is like a glissade, smoothly gliding along. At other times it’s like a carefully choreographed ballet. And still at other times it jumps and whirls with dolphin-like speed and energy. The whole time you are adrift in this fluid world of activity, hope, misunderstanding, acceptance, and love.

For me, the feeling of this book was almost Zen-like. I felt like I was an observer watching life unfold, just like the two deities that watched Ripple from on high. Even when tragedy occurred, though I felt empathy toward Ripple and Cosmo and Rigel and Pearl, I felt oddly at peace—like I was simply witnessing the life-events that were shaping these individuals. Somehow I knew that all was as it should be and would be worth it all in the end. And I was right. At the height of the story, when Ripple is finally able to share her gift with Cosmos, I was so overjoyed it brought tears to my eyes.

Tui Allen may have hoped to raise consciousness about these beautiful animals with her story, but she also brings important life lessons to her human readers—lessons about acceptance, belief in oneself, and the courage to be who you are.