melanie neale

"Boat Kid" is the engaging memoir of what it’s like to grow up aboard a sailboat. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Melanie’s family lived aboard a 47-foot sailboat, spending their summers along the US East Coast and their winters in the Bahamas. Melanie and her sister were homeschooled, the family fished for dinner and made their own bread, but her parents were far from hippie dropouts. Despite their unique lifestyle, her parents were determined to raise proper young ladies while surrounded by sea-gypsies, mystics, nudists, boat bums, sharks, and smugglers.

And the cruising life was not all fun in the sun. The family had to work hard to pay for their way of life. They dodged hurricanes, federal agents, and bullying land kids. And as her father published articles about how living on a boat brings families together, Melanie secretly struggled with an eating disorder, the alienation of being a boat kid, and her developing sexuality. "Boat Kid" weaves all this together into a story about a girl who, once all is said and done, simply wants her own boat and the freedom to live her own life.

Melanie paints a vivid picture of family life aboard a sailboat without drowning the reader in the technical details of sailing. "Boat Kid" strikes a perfect balance between coming-of-age story and sea tale enjoyable for boaters and land-lovers alike.

"Boat Kid" is the Middle Grades version (ages 9-15) of Melanie's "Boat Girl: A Memoir of Youth, Love & Fiberglass."