Romiette “Romi” Cappelle, an otherwise bold and whip-smart teenager, fears only one thing: drowning. She cannot swim, so the thought of being helpless in an environment too vast to be navigated terrifies her, with this fear manifesting as a recurring nightmare. Aside from this nightmare, the act of drowning emerges as a symbol of the difficult challenges of adolescence itself.

Being a teenager can be overwhelming. A mother and a teacher for more than 25 years in Cincinnati, author Sharon M. Draper understands the challenges of adolescence. Across her many titles, her young adult characters face the daunting, intimidating pressures associated with high school. In Romiette and Julio, Romi and her friends face gang violence, the indifference of overwhelmed teachers and other authority figures, disagreements with their parents, and their own expectations for academics and social life. Adolescence comes with the physical changes and tumultuous emotions of puberty, and the novel illustrates this experience as the vast sea that haunts Romi.

In turn, the voice that always calls to the dreaming, drowning Romi symbolizes the support of others, a reminder that growing pains pass. In Romi’s nightmare, the voice promises her rescue, and when the nightmare manifests as her and Julio’s kidnapping by the Devildogs, the voice turns out to be Julio.