Tide Song, Melody of the Deep: A fantasy coming of age adventure (Tide Song Duology, Part 1) (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798991681322)

Kei has always longed to prove herself. Her legs falter in the sand, and her mother would keep her safely on shore. But her voice reaches farther than she ever dreamed - to the eldest of the Kopri, ancient octopus people whose world is about to shatter.

When the eldest of the Kopri comes to her, speaking not in words but in shifting colors and textures across his skin, Kei learns the depth of their loss: coral gardens torn apart by the Koru-Kah empire's nets, their eggs destroyed before they could hatch. To the invaders, the Kopri are nothing more than resources to exploit - another prize stripped from the sea. Yet through Kei's song, a fragile connection is struck: one human voice reaching into the silence of a people on the brink of extinction.

Could you be friends with an octopus who painted words on their skin? For Kei, the fragile bond with the eldest demands a choice: stay safe at her mother's side, or go beyond her limits to stand with the Kopri in their struggle to survive. Friendship, once struck, cannot be abandoned - even when it means risking everything against an empire built on fear and indifference.

Drawn into alliance with DeepRunner, the eldest survivor, Kei discovers that her voice is more than a gift - it is a weapon the empire cannot control. Together, girl and octopus must challenge the Koru-Kah's hunger for conquest and their blindness to what they destroy. Resistance risks everything. Yet to remain silent is to watch an entire people vanish into the deep.

Tide Song: Melody of the Deep is a lyrical fantasy for readers who crave more than fast battles and easy tropes. It is a tale of oceans scarred by exploitation, of a young woman refusing to be limited, and of a friendship that defies the boundaries of species.