Turn the Tide by Elaine Dimopoulos – Book Review

Title: Turn the Tide Author: Elaine Dimopoulos Publisher: Clarion Books Release Date: March 8, 2022

Mimi’s parents run a Greek restaurant, and when faced with financial difficulties, they must move the family from Massachusetts to Wilford Island, Florida. Mimi holds tight to her hope of playing piano in the Young Artists competition at Carnegie Hall, but everything else is different: new school, no friends, and a balmy climate. Yet, when Mimi views a presentation by Melati and Isabel Wijsen, her purpose on the island takes an unexpected turn. Inspired by the Wijsen sisters’ efforts to ban plastic bags on Bali, Mimi takes up the same cause on her island, where plastic trash litters its beautiful beaches. It’s a huge undertaking, especially at the age of twelve, but Mimi learns valuable lessons about achieving lofty goals along the way.

Turn the Tide by Elaine Dimopoulos shows the ability of young people to harness their power and make a difference in the world. Mimi’s environmental activism will inspire readers to examine their own lives and make changes. Whether these changes are big or small, they can make a difference, a lesson imparted throughout Dimopoulos’ novel-in-verse. The book itself will make a difference to middle grade audiences. Its real-life inspiration, the Wijsen sisters, will also intrigue readers. Even though Turn the Tide is simplistic in its delivery and storyline, the emotions and questions it evokes run deep, creating possibilities for rich, complex discussions.

Turn the Tide is a fantastic complement to a unit of study about environmental activism. Accompanied with informational texts about pollution, plastic waste, the cost of plastic production, and microplastics, educators have a powerful opportunity to focus on one aspect of human activity that greatly affects the environment. The novel can also be used as a catalyst for students to make changes in their own lives and the in their own community. Young people have enormous potential to effect change, and this small but mighty book offers the chance to spark it in classrooms and, from there, the community.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Clarion Books, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

• Cross-curricular Study – Teach the novel in conjunction with a study of pollution and the effects of microplastics on the environment.
• Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of novels in verse.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

• Effects of Pollution
• Microplastics
• Climate Activism

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Turn the Tide. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

• Willodeen by Katherine Applegate (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• The Adventure is Now by Jess Redman (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• Everywhere Blue by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• The Last Wild by Piers Torday (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)

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