With the assistance of his dad and teachers, 13-year-old Jamie hopes to build a boat, more precisely, a perpetual motion machine, that will help him learn more about his dead mother.

BOAT starts out promising with Jamie's unique narrative of trying to connect with the dead. Unfortunately, the story falls apart as it tries to cover too much with campus drama, marriage issues, and family secrets. Some reviewers also point out that Feeny's portrayal of Jamie as a neurodivergent person (albeit not explicitly stated) is rather superficial, stereotypical, and inaccurate. I adore the first 1/3 of BOAT but feel it required some editing & sensitivity reading.