Order OCEAN CHILD in paperback, hardcover, audiobook, or on Kindle on November 7, 2025 release.

This sweeping, character-driven novel by M.E. Flatow is already generating buzz for its poignant exploration of family secrets, sisterhood, and personal reinvention. By preordering now, you’ll be among the first to dive into Julia, Miriam, and Catrina’s journeys as they grapple with the legacy of an absent father and forge their own paths across Sydney’s surf beaches, Hollywood backlots, and Southern California start-ups.

OCEAN CHILD will be available in all formats on November 7, 2025, perfect for book clubs, gift guides, and anyone who enjoys immersive storytelling. Whether you prefer to listen as you commute or flip through a beautiful print copy at home, there’s an edition for every reader.

Early Praise for Ocean Child

  • “A layered meditation on the power of buried secrets and family ties.”

    Comparable Titles: Julia Armfield’s Private Rites, Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake.

    - Publishers Weekly (via Booklife)

  • “A promising debut that tells an earnest and emotional story about inherited and chosen families."

    As the sisters’ stories weave together, the novel examines themes of family dynamics, betrayal, and figuring out how to heal emotionally and spiritually after receiving life-altering news. Flatow manages to connect Julia’s, Miriam’s, and Catrina’s backstories with present-day developments, ably moving between time periods to show how their father’s absence has molded each woman’s voice; the author also effectively shows how their new familial connection brings comfort and complications into their lives.

    - Kirkus Reviews

  • “Ocean Child is fresh and bright without unearned sweetness, thanks to its earnest heart.”

    Fresh, honest, and vulnerable, Ocean Child poignantly explores the tensions between charting new courses and confronting past grievances. Deploying an ensemble cast of primary and supporting characters, moving across time and around the world, it seeks an answer to finding one’s identity and purpose between ever-shifting relationships and life-goals.

    The exploration of themes is realized with skill and spirit through the development of a stellar ensemble of characters and a compelling dramatic plot.

    - Independent Book Review (Victoria Lilly)

Ocean Child, A Novel
Flatow, M. E.
Ocean Child, A Novel (Hardcover)
Flatow, M. E.
Ocean Child, A Novel (Kindle)
Flatow, M. E.

"Three sisters. One absent father. Lifelong questions answered by waves of revelation."

Introducing Ocean Child: A Novel

In M. E. Flatow's compelling debut, three sisters navigate their twenties grappling with the echoes of their father’s emotional and physical absence. Each woman’s journey unfolds uniquely, yet they find their stories powerfully intertwined. A deeply moving exploration of family secrets, self-discovery, and sisterhood, Ocean Child resonates with anyone who has sought to understand the complex ties of family.

Read More About Ocean Child

About the Author

M. E. Flatow is a practicing attorney, small business owner, and writer of contemporary upmarket fiction that explores resilience, identity, and the power of chosen family. A father of three daughters, he is deeply drawn to stories that ask who we become when the families we are born into fail us — and what it means to rebuild connection on our own terms. Ocean Child is his debut novel.

Meet the Author

Read About Ocean Child

Between the Pages - Stay in Touch

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