Why is Elektra's mom making an improbable journey to a new life on a houseboat in California, taking Elektra and her sister, Thalia, with her? There's little explanation for the wrenching change, and Elektra feels shattered. Their new community is a cluster of sorry-looking "derelict hulks" stuck in the mudflats of Guadalupe Slough, outside San Jose. The wacky residents are nothing like the solid community Elektra knew in the Mississippi college town where her dad is a noted professor of classics (a profession that prompts many of the mythological references in this journey tale). And yet, over time, the new neighbors prove to be a remarkable crew. Elektra's scheme to embark on her own odyssey back home turns bittersweet when her father turns out not to be the hero she thought he was, and her mother's reason for a radical break begins to make sense. Although the language is strong for younger readers, this unique coming-of-age story features appealing characters and nuanced resolution.

Sixteen-year-old Elektra Kamenides is furious when she and her sister are dragged from Mississippi to California by their mother. Elektra misses her father, a scholar of ancient Greek tragedy, but as she makes friends with a wonderfully eclectic set of strays and drifters, she uncovers tragic family secrets and also discovers a reluctant resilience within herself. A delightful realistic novel about epic odysseys and new beginnings.