I can barely remember this book, I read it early to mid-2000's. It was a young adult book.
- The book takes place on a small island, I believe off the coast of Ireland or England, where fishing, and specifically fish(or whale?) oil is a big deal.
- The main character is a boy.
- There is a big magical fish that has a legend around it.
- At one point the main character is dragged/taken down under the ocean and walks around under the sea.(I remember a specific part where he takes off his boots to swim and then regrets it later)
- There's this big message about how the island doesn't need to use fish/whale oil to do everything anymore because they have like synthetic oil on the mainland, but the people on the island don't want to change their ways.
The only thing else I can remember about the book is that I believe it starts with a wake.
Thanks, any help would be great!