Book Review of Too Deep to Drown
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The Children’s Book Review
Too Deep to Drown
Written by Stacy R. Ward
Ages: 16+ | 314 Pages
Publisher: Button Hall (2026) | ISBN: 979-8-9918515-4-1
What to Expect: Family, mental health problems, STEM, engineering, marine science, new relationships, and self-esteem.
Told from the point of view of 17-year-old Meg—a motorcycle-riding, socially awkward heroine with a complicated backstory and a genius for fixing engines—this story is a powerful exploration of agency and determination in the face of social and institutional powerlessness.
Too Deep to Drown is a story about the ocean, but more importantly, it’s a story about fighting for your place in the world. As the niece of a distinguished sea captain, Meg should find it easy to fulfill her greatest calling in life—working with and on the magnificent engines of the research vessels her Aunt captains. However, just about everything is against her.
With a mentally ill hoarder for a mother, she’s been forced to sue for emancipation to have any chance at achieving her dream—and to her cold and disapproving Aunt, her decision makes her nothing more than an entitled brat. She’s had to beg and fight to be considered for the internship that will give her a chance at a university degree, and she’s about to find out that in these days of pollution and environmental degradation, the Pacific Ocean may not offer the escape she so desperately craves.
Meg’s determination and frustration are matched only by the magnitude of her stubbornness as she fights against obstacles and disappointments far heavier than any one person should justly have to bear. Pitted against her is the equally strong will of her Aunt, and readers are sure to be drawn into the high emotions of knowing when Meg is doing exactly the wrong thing—and when her instincts are uncomfortably right. Woven around the emotional drama of Meg’s coming of age is a deep love for the ocean, and for the STEM professionals who protect it.
Perfect for readers who love determined heroines and stories where science meets heart, Too Deep to Drown will resonate with teens navigating difficult family dynamics and uncertain futures. With its vivid ocean setting, emotional honesty, and celebration of perseverance, it offers both inspiration and a reminder that meaningful dreams are rarely easy—but always worth the fight.
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About the Author
Stacy R. Ward is a practicing small-animal veterinarian in Wilmington, North Carolina, with fifteen years of experience as a marine mammal stranding veterinarian.
Over the course of her work, she has cared for stranded whales on local beaches, many suffering from plastic ingestion, vessel strikes, or entanglement injuries.
A 1999 graduate of the NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Stacy completed a rotating medical and surgical internship at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville. During her DVM training, she furthered her interest in marine mammal medicine through the AquaVet program in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and a summer research and animal husbandry internship at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut.
Stacy currently serves on the board of the Coastal Studies Institute at East Carolina University’s Outer Banks campus. She has been writing for more than a decade and has participated in numerous literary conferences and intensives. Too Deep to Drown is her debut publication, released by Button Hall Publishing.
She lives in Wilmington with her extremely patient husband, her young adult children who do as they please and make a big mess, and an unruly menagerie of pets that includes too many dogs, a pair of highly opinionated cats, and a giant but thankfully quiet tortoise named Lewis.
A portion of the proceeds from Too Deep to Drown will be donated to support ocean research and conservation.
For more information, visit stacyrward.com.
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