Forty Words for Love

Yas and Raf live in Moonlight Bay where tourism once thrived because of the town's magical pink and lavender ocean, until one night, a tragedy occurred, and the ocean and sky turned dark. The tourists stop coming, a major employer leaves, and the town starts to die. Raf is Golub, part of a group of immigrants who came to Moonlight Bay through the magical Golub tree because their land has frozen over and become uninhabitable. Some of the townspeople blame the Golub for the tragedy which has led to the town dying. Yas' family has lived in the town for generations and their livelihood has depended on shells from the magical ocean. Yas and Raf are best friends whose romantic feelings for each other are evolving. A romantic relationship between them is forbidden. The story follows their exploration of their feelings for each other and their desire to forge their own path, independent of family expectations, against the backdrop of a dying town where tensions are mounting. Forty Words for Love tackles important issues such as immigration, xenophobia, racism, environmental exploitation, grief, fear and loss. It is beautifully written genre bending magical realism with vivid worldbuilding and many parallels to our own world.