Two brothers go on a journey to see a dolphin and find peace in this heartfelt story. Thirteen-year-old Martin loves his charming, eccentric little brother, Charlie, who was born prematurely and has had health problems ever since. Martin and Charlie's home life has been dreary lately, with a depressed mom and an overworked dad. So Martin takes Charlie and runs away to Cornwall e site of a previous family vacation where Charlie fell in love with a spirited dolphin. As Martin and Charlie travel 421 miles back to Cornwall, the real reason for the trip is slowly revealed. This heartbreaking story of love and loss also contains plenty of humorous, brotherly banter. Oddball Charlie is compelling: his deep connection to the robust dolphin and his occasional anger at his own fragile body lend depth and agency to his character. Martin's first-person, present-tense narration gives readers insight into his shifting emotions, as do the poems he has written under the guidance of a caring teacher. A moving adventure about love and letting go.

An unreliable narrator turns this road-trip adventure story into something more complex--exploring loss, responsibility, and the power of fortuitous meetings. The narrative moves back and forth between Martin and younger brother Charlie's current trip and an earlier family vacation--punctuated by excerpts from Martin's poetry journal--as readers gradually learn the reason for the journey. Martin and Charlie are effective foils for each other, and their brotherly banter is entertaining.

Two brothers travel by train from their home in the north of England to a southern coastal town to revisit a wild dolphin they saw during a family vacation a year earlier. Despite a premature birth and multiple operations, 10-year-old Charlie has grown into a funny, feisty, and creative boy, adored by his family and obsessed with dolphins. His rebellious personality, however, challenges 13-year-old Martin, and the journey is fraught with obstructions. The older brother has only just enough money for one ticket, so the younger spends much of the trip in hiding. A chance encounter with a runaway girl whom Martin at first dislikes proves to be their salvation. She helps them avoid the police and finally to reach their destination in time to fulfill his promise to Charlie. The chapters are interspersed with flashbacks to the family holiday the previous year, and each leg of the journey begins with one of Martin's poems and his meticulous records of the distance traveled. Lowery's narrative skill and Martin's funny, self-deprecating voice elevate this novel, and a plot twist at the end both is entirely unexpected and satisfyingly reveals the real reasons behind the journey. The primary characters are implied white; the stereotypical depiction of an avaricious South Asian shopkeeper at the outset strikes a sour note in this British import.A gentle paean to the intensity of brotherly love. (Fiction. 10-14)