Flint is furiously trying to finish the illustrations on his first comic book before he loses his eyesight due to his damaged cornea. His superhero character is called Squint after the nickname his classmates derisively give him for his poor vision. My name is Flint, but everyone in middle school calls me Squint because I'm losing my vision. I used to play football, but not anymore. I haven't had a friend in a long time. Thankfully, real friends can see the real you, even when you can't clearly see. Flint loves to draw. In fact, he's furiously trying to finish his comic book so he can be the youngest winner of the "Find a Comic Star " contest. He's also rushing to finish because he has keratoconus an eye disease that could eventually make him blind. McKell is the new girl at school and immediately hangs with the popular kids. Except McKell's not a fan of the way her friends treat this boy named Squint. He seems nice and really talented. He draws awesome pictures of superheroes. McKell wants to get to know him, but is it worth the risk? What if her friends catch her hanging with the kid who squints all the time? McKell has a hidden talent of her own but doesn't share it for fear of being judged. Her terminally ill brother, Danny, challenges McKell to share her love of poetry and songwriting. Flint seems like someone she could trust. Someone who would never laugh at her. Someone who is as good and brave as the superhero in Flint's comic book named Squint.
Growing up,
Chad Morris was fascinated by blue whales. He read books about the world's largest creature and did grade school reports on them. He drew pictures of them and taped them to his wall (the pictures, not whales--that would be impossible). He would love to see a blue whale in real life, but he'd rather not meet a bobbitt or zombie worm. Seriously, he'd prefer his bones not become jelly.
Shelly Brown was born in the Northwest and grew up near the ocean. It's a part of her. She can surf and point out all sorts of sea creatures and plants (though not necessarily at the same time). Now that she lives in the mountains, she has saved money, planned, and taken Chad and their five kids to both coasts to swim, surf, search tide pools, snorkel, and watch sea lions, seals, turtles, whales, and more. Her soul speaks ocean.
