The Odd Sea, a novel by Frederick Reiken, is a story about the loss of a loved one. When sixteen year old Ethan Shumway leaves his home and suddenly disappears, each member of the family reacts in his or her own peculiar way. Lawrence or Mr. Shumway, Ethan’s father, rediscovers his dream, “the lost art of timber framing,” or putting together houses without using power tools or nails. Ethan’s mother, Marilyn, can’t sleep, and begins to spend her nights baking, reading classic novels, and standing out with the stars. Eventually, she grows so depressed she has to be hospitalized. Amy, the oldest sister, quickly accepts that Ethan will not return, and advises her siblings to find him inside their hearts. Dana, the youngest sister, works on her
He also spend a lot of time with Halley while Amy and Dana are not around. They have fun together, they talk about Ethan together, and they help their parents together. It is important to have someone with you in this hard time. Philip thinks, “Our mother was a patient in mental ward. Our father was building a strange house on our front lawn. Dana was playing basketball in Connecticut. Amy was miserable and Ethan was still part of the Odd Sea. More than anything, Halley and I needed to be together. And so it really didn’t matter what we were doing.” (63-64) This shows that he needs to be with his family. He tries to keep family together. He needs his parents but unfortunately his parents need some help to get through this too, so he tries to help them. It seems like Philip wants to take care of his parents because he feels responsibility for the lose of his brother, and he doesn’t want to loss his parents either. He has Halley to talk to, and spend time with. It is important to have someone you love be by your side, and for you to support each other. Even though he is still not letting Ethan go, he does great by supporting his the family, and letting his family support him. Finally, Philip starts to accept that Ethan will not come back. After his long journey to finding Ethan, Halley who is already got herself out of the in-between place, (the place that is not here and not wherever Ethan is) has bought Philip a journal. He starts to write