Along the Saltwater Sea is the second book in the middle-grade series The Up and Under by A. Deborah Baker. The premise is pretty simple, in that two children get transported to a magical world where they have to find their way back home. The characters are interesting and entertaining, and I think that my younger self would have loved this book. I also think that I would have really related to Zib. 

 

Except I wish that Zib would have been a bit more. See, Zib questioned their gender identity and then just completely brushed it off. There should have been even one more sentence, some sort of something not a complete dismissal of their own feelings. Younger me would have needed that, and it was disappointing that the author didn’t just give it a bit more. She could have easily done so without parents even noticing or cis kids losing their ability to relate to Zib. Or, don’t mention it at all. The dismissal hurt. 

 

Beyond that, it was a fun book. I didn’t realize it was the second in the series so I put it down and read the first book beforehand. However, I honestly could have just read the second. The whole first part of the book is a summary.