• The Highest Tide

  • A Novel
  • By: Jim Lynch
  • Narrated by: Fisher Stevens
  • Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (251 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Highest Tide  By  cover art

The Highest Tide

By: Jim Lynch
Narrated by: Fisher Stevens
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.99

Buy for $14.99

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A spellbinding first novel about a young boy's fascination with the wonders of the seashore during a summer that will change his life.

One moonlit night, thirteen-year-old Miles O'Malley slips out of his house, packs up his kayak and goes exploring on the flats of Puget Sound. But what begins as an ordinary hunt for starfish, snails, and clams is soon transformed by an astonishing sight: a beached giant squid. As the first person to ever see a giant squid alive, the speed-reading Rachel Carson-obsessed insomniac instantly becomes a local curiosity. When he later finds a rare deepwater fish in the tidal waters near his home, and saves a dog from drowning, he is hailed as a prophet. The media hovers and everyone wants to hear what Miles has to say.

But Miles is really just a teenager on the verge of growing up, infatuated with the girl next door, worried that his bickering parents will divorce, and fearful that everything, even the bay he loves, is shifting from him. While the sea continues to offer up discoveries from its mysterious depths, Miles struggles to deal with the difficulties that attend the equally mysterious process of growing up. In this unforgettable, beguiling novel, we witness the dramatic sea change for both Miles and the coastline that he adores over the course of a summer—one that will culminate with the highest tide in fifty years.

©2005 Jim Lynch (P)2005 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

2005 Audie Award Nominee, Literary Fiction

The Highest Tide is a plunge into sustained and intelligent wonder. Jim Lynch creates a richly tumultuous world on a microcosmic stage. His characters and events are as complex and surprising as the sea that surrounds them. He's got me re-reading Rachel Carson and itching for tide pools of my own.” —Katherine Dunn, author of Geek Love

“A small but engaging debut that works both as a poignant coming-of-age story and an enchanting primer on the life acquatic. The Highest Tide is as crisp and clean as a cool dip into the water, and just about as refreshing.” —Entertainment

What listeners say about The Highest Tide

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    117
  • 4 Stars
    69
  • 3 Stars
    49
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    65
  • 4 Stars
    31
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    69
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

13 going on 30

Pros:
Coming-of-age books can be great and moving reads. This book was loaded with emotion, and chock full of beautiful descriptions of life on the ocean (or bay, as it were) by one who obviously loves it and is well versed in the subject.

Cons:
There is plenty of what I'd expect a young teen to be thinking of and doing in this novel. But, about one-third the way into the book, I started to doubt a 13 year old could ever know as much as Miles O'Malley did. The story started to flatten for me as more and more very detailed facts about marine life, elegant quotes from Rachel Carson's writings, and very adult emotions came tumbling out of Miles. As Miles drones on about clams and the reproductive habits of obscure squid, I found my attention drifting more than once.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Middle School point of view

Fisher Stevens has a great voice for narration, and has done nice characterizations in his career. Unfortunately, the protagonist and his friends in this book are 13 years old. Rachel Carson's view of life on earth was fresh with dire predictions. But the counterpoint of this protagonist, his foul-mouthed and misguided friends, adults who are all "users" for their own self-interest, makes this a tiresome book. I have listened to 6 of the 7 hours, and can't wait for it to be over. Perhaps this review would be more favorable if i waited until the end, but I am so annoyed, I needed to vent by frustrations now.
I applaud Fisher Stevens, and urge people NOT to listen to this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly the discussions about the wonders of nature. Judging from other reviews, I may be unusual in this regard. (Okay, I majored in Marine Biology many years ago.) The reader did an excellent job capturing the artless enthusisasm that we as adults too often lose.
Like another reviewer, I was a bit disconcerted by the sudden ending, as if the writer just ran out of steam and quit. But all in all, I highly recommend this book, especially to people with an interest in sealife or biology in general.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpected surprise

I'm not sure why I bought this book but I was unexpectedly surprised that it was so enjoyable. Its has a interesting plot and lots of information on sea life which was also something that I found very interesting.

All and all, I'd reccommend this quiet book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Absolute Waste of Time!

I can't believe I spent eight hours listening to this. Sure, I learned a lot about the life in tidal pools, but a "coming of age" story this ain't. Totally pointless book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

The Highest Tide

Very well written and while told from the point of view of a teen-ager, seemed very convincing. The details of the Olympia tidal flats and the environmental concerns and interests of the main character were fascinating. It made me want to go explore tidal pools!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Stand by Me Book 2

Maybe living on Puget Sound and being a native of this state makes me more generous in my review, but I found this book to be a delightful coming of age book. The ending was a bit abrupt for my wife, but I would rather have a few questions unanswered and left to the imagination.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting Choice Of Narrator

While the story was interesting it was hard to get past the raspy voice of the narrator. I will not listen to him again when there are so many with nice smooth voices out there. A shame as it was a good story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Okay story, but disappointing reader

I usually don't pay too much attention to the readers of audiobooks, but this one almost ruined the experience for me. He speaks with exaggerated, unnatural inflections. At times he sounds like a TV commercial (one can imagine him saying,"Try new FlavorFresh(TM)!"). At other times, he sounds like he is telling camp stories to first graders ("and THEN, the scaaaaary monster JUMPED out of the closet!!").

I found this reading strangely incongruous because the narrator in the novel is supposed to be an introspective and thoughtful thirteen year old.

The novel was otherwise enjoyable, so I was almost tempted to just buy the paperback version.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A teen vibe

The story was OK, but I got tired of hearing and living a 14-year-old’s life and energy level.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!