Anna's Reviews > Murray Out of Water

"Can my gender be ocean?" What a relatable quote 😂

I LOVED this. It was absolutely precious and everything I love about queer middle grade. It's complex but digestible and nothing turns out perfect.

Murray is just a kid with overbearing parents who want them to be something they're not. Murray has magic and it's tied to the ocean, but when a hurricane tears them away from their home, they start to truly learn where their magic comes from and who they are away from it.

I'm using they/them for Murray even though it's not really specified in the book partly because it's 1st person and partly because it isn't 100% decided at the end of the book.

This is one of those stories and one of those main characters that I would happily read a whole series about them. Contemporary books don't often become series they often just have companion novels but I genuinely would read a book about Murray in high school, about Murray in college and about Murray as an adult. I cannot get enough and I would love to see how they grow into themselves and learn more and deal with all the things they've got going on.

That being said, this book is complete. Not everything gets tied up with a bow but that's life and we don't always know exactly what happens. The important thing is that Murray is becoming more confident and exploring what possibilities life holds for them. I also really appreciate the space to be questioning. The q and LGBTQ+ does stand for queer but it also stands for questioning and holding space for those folks as they figure out what's going on or what label was best for them etc, is so important. So many of us queer people don't automatically know what label fits us best and trying one on for size or two or three or figuring out none of them work is part of the journey and I kind of love that Murray doesn't settle on any labels in this book. They're just existing and it is stunning. It is truly a beautiful book and one I can't wait for other people to read. I want to recommend this one to everyone.

Questioning gender non conforming and questioning sapphic MC. loads of secondary queer characters.