A hopeful -- and tender -- look at family and growing up.

When Liv was born, her mother died. Her father, Mark Trager, handed her over to her grandmother "like a bundle of laundry." Now her beloved Gran has died and Mark is the only family Liv has. All she knows is that he lives in California and dives for abalone. She has to leave New York to live with him, but that doesn't mean she has to forgive him for abandoning her. Samantha, his girlfriend, is an unexpected gift, someone Liv can really talk to, but even Sam can't bring father and daughter together. There's Brian Spinuchi, too. He's her father's tender, responsible for his lifeline as he dives, but not the type she could ever fall for. Or is he? When Spinuchi breaks his arm, Liv, a city girl, must become her father's tender. Once the two head out to sea, they find themselves confronting a reality that will change their relationship forever. Valerie Hobbs's latest novel is about overcoming the fears that isolate us.