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  • Published: 9 September 2025
  • ISBN: 9780593530566
  • Imprint: Rocky Pond Books
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 192
  • RRP: $22.99

A Galaxy of Whales




A perfect summer read about whale watching and friendship both lost and found, from the author of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

A perfect summer read about whale watching and friendship both lost and found, from the author of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

When Fern hears about a photo contest with a big cash award, she decides she’ll enter and win! After all, photography is her passion (and was an interest she shared with her dad, who has recently died). She knows she can take a prize-worthy photo of a whale during one of the whale-watching tours her mom runs.

But her neighbor (and nemesis), Jasper, is also planning to enter the contest. It’s another frustration for Fern while she’s already coping with the worry that her best friend, Ivy, might not want to spend time with her anymore. She’s hoping to use the prize money to buy something that will attract Ivy’s interest.

This summer story has everything: the trials and pleasures of friendship, a rousing feud and a touch of adventure, a beautiful exploration of healing after grief, a very moving finale, and a whole lot of whale-watching fascination.

  • Published: 9 September 2025
  • ISBN: 9780593530566
  • Imprint: Rocky Pond Books
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 192
  • RRP: $22.99

About the author

Heather Fawcett

Heather Fawcett is the New York Times bestselling author of Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter and the Hugo Award–nominated Emily Wilde series, as well as a number of books for children and young adults, including Ember and the Ice Dragons, The Grace of Wild Things, and A Galaxy of Whales. She has a master’s degree in English literature and a bachelor’s in archaeology. She lives on Vancouver Island.

Also by Heather Fawcett

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Praise for A Galaxy of Whales

Praise for A Galaxy of Whales

Kobo Best of the Month

"Funny, tender, and engagingly poignant."—Kirkus
"An enthralling examination of the gut-wrenching and beautiful inevitability of change."— Booklist
"Eschews traditional tropes surrounding friendship breakups by imbuing Fern and Ivy’s relationship with nuance and tenderly depicting Fern’s struggles to maintain relationships as those dynamics shift."—Publishers Weekly

Awards for other Heather Fawcett novels

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
National Bestseller
Indie Next pick
NPR Best Book of the Year
New York Times Notable Book
Goodreads Choice Award finalist

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands
New York Times Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
Indie Next Pick

The Islands of Elsewhere
Amazon Best of the Month

The Grace of Wild Thing
Texas Lone Star Reading List 
Cybil Award for MG speculative fiction