One Last Wave

By Kent Ostby (Indie author. November 2023)

Pages: 280

Genre: Fiction

“Nothing is impossible if you are too stupid to give up.”

Colt Weiss is a surfer who’s “built his life around the waves.” He lives in central California’s Arroyo Grande and tends bar at Ultimates Surf Shop & Grub. (Think Pismo Beach’s Panchos.) Courtesy of a Secret Lies TV episode, readers soon discover that Colt lost his first wife to cancer. He’s lost other women to The Grim Reaper, too.

Dubbed the “Dead Sitter” by a Secret Lies reporter, Colt has a reputation. He “sits” with women who are dying, walking with them through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Bethan Strada is a top pop star musician. She collapses on stage during a concert in Minnesota. Was it drugs or something else?

Abbie Johnson is a thirteen year-old middle schooler in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She’s big into social media, especially TikTok. Abbie is adopted. She’s Bethan’s #1 fan and bears a striking resemblance to the pop star phenom. Coincidence or something else?

How and why these three lives intersect is at the heart and soul of this evocative and eloquent read.

In case you’re wondering – and even if you’re not – we took five pages of notes on this book, double-sided. (Well, one of us did. The one with opposable thumbs.) We decided to use only a portion for this review. And just hit some highlights. So here ya go:

Skill

What jumps out first and foremost is the author’s skillful use of imagery and his command of the language. Both are substantial. You can almost taste Colt’s cinnamon roll with yellow raisins. Hear the ocean breakers. Inhale the salt spray.

Credible dialogue and settings move the story along. The plot is generally nimble, the pacing brisk. (It sags and slows a bit in the middle. But don’t we all?)

Vivid and vibrant word pictures of central California and the California beach scene bring each setting to life. So does an obvious familiarity with music and dealing with a terminal illness. Saturated in sensitivity and sagacity, the story hums with hope.

Settings

Early chapters shift between Bethan and Abbie in Minnesota and Colt and his ”sometime girlfriend,” Teri, in California. Dual and sometimes treble POVs are in play. Chapter 5 opens with Bethan flying back to L.A. from Minnesota. The story continues in other settings such as Riverside and Palm Springs. The POV narrows.

Characters

Regarding characters, some resonate more than others. We found Abbie Johnson and the whole TikTok thing rather tiresome.  The character of Teri is thin. She seems to exist only as contrast to Colt’s selflessness.

Enigmatic and taciturn, Colt Weiss is a puzzle. He could be seen as a “Christ figure.” Readers will spend about 99% of the book wondering why Colt does what he does – walking with the terminally ill through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. His motivation isn’t clear until the final pages. This may tax the patience of some readers. Also, a middle-aged surfer dude hanging ten? Really? And how many 40 year-olds do you know named “Colt”? (Just for kicks and grins, we looked up the top 200 most popular names for boys born in the 1980s according to  Social Security. “Colt” isn’t on the list.)

“Life is valuable to me… It’s a gift from God to me. One more sunrise, one more sunset, one last wave.”

Overwritten?

Some scenes feel overwritten. Like the one with Abbie’s adoptive parents the Johnsons, Bethan and Abbie at Pimushe Lake. (Yeah, it exists. So does Zeppoles Pizza and Pasta. Ditto Amy’s Café in Riverside. We checked. So kudos on the factual locations.) 

Heart, Depth

On the other hand, there’s a tremendous amount of heart in these pages. The attention and energy poured into the writing is prodigious and palpable. An undercurrent of melancholy or wistfulness swirls throughout the narrative. It’s subtle but distinct. A wide variety and depth of emotion is skillfully and artfully conveyed. This includes anger. Regret. Resentment. Fear. Doubt. Surrender. Kindness. Faith. Love.

Theme

A key theme is servanthood. And that’s all we’re gonna say on that score. You’ll have to read One Last Wave yourself for more.

Target Audience

The target audience is open to question. Surfing, beach, and outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy this book. So will Taylor Swift fans and those struggling with some of life’s tough questions, such as the omnipresent, “Why?” So One Last Wave will also resonate with Californians and anyone who’s lost a loved one. The book includes adult themes with nods to the Millennial/Gen Z demographic. So we’d peg it at Young Adult or Adult Fiction/Inspirational.

Odds & Ends

A few additional, general observations:

• The book has ragged right margins instead of the cleaner fully justified margins. So page formatting is less than ideal.
• Chapter headings are regular-sized print. They aren’t set off by increased font size or bold face.
• What’s up with all the bathroom breaks? Why do we have to know every time a character uses the bathroom? It’s bizarre.
• Typos occur here and there. Examples: “Bethan was lean and taught like a cougar” (p 14).  “… hashtag had a duel meaning…” (p. 56). But these are minor and do not detract from the overall read.
• The plot is pretty predictable, at least in a general sense. It stops short of pedantic or pedestrian.
• Curiously, the back cover features a duplicate image of the cover graphic instead of a brief book blurb or synopsis. The purpose of a blurb and synopsis is to provide a positive “wowing” description of the book that’ll catch the interest of a potential reader and result in a buy. Both are MIA in One Last Wave.
• This is a strong story overall. The attention of a good copy editor and proofreader would make it even better.

 

Mixed 

Thus, we had mixed reactions to this book. One of us was ready to bound down the beach, jump into the water and dog-paddle out to Colt and join him on his board in a heartbeat. The other, not so much (Hi, Mom).

Almost

Our TBR pile is humungous. Rivals Mount Everest.Our review request queue is a mile long. So one of us almost DNFed this book. But, “C’mon Mom!” chirped a sweet furry face we all know and love. “A few more chapters!”

Brimming

Indeed, the final chapters of One Last Wave are the strongest and most compelling. Brimming with power and pathos, they could wring tears from a turnip. “… my big feet always get in the way…”

So bring tissue. Totes.

Our Rating: 3.0

***

Kent Ostby is a husband, father, engineer, blogger, and novelist who writes out of his home in Georgia, surrounded by empty Pepsi cans, beach music, and spoiled cats.

For more than ten years, he’s been blogging at various spots on the internet and writing novels. Currently, his short stories, thoughts, and life hacks can be found at kentostby.com. (Note: We do not recommend clicking this link. It has a “connection not private” security alert.)

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Sunset surfer image credit: Public Domain.