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On the Rocks

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

An inspiring story about the ups and downs of family.

Fourteen-year-old Dylan is sent to live with his estranged grandfather, Angus. Basically strangers, the two avoid each other as best they can. One day Dylan discovers a young orca stranded high up on the rocky beach. Dylan runs to tell his grandfather. There's nothing that can be done, says Angus. The sun is coming up, and soon the orca will die of exposure.

But Dylan knows he has to try to save the whale. He collects towels to cover the delicate skin of the orca and begins transporting buckets of water from the ocean below to keep it hydrated. It's grueling work, and it will be hours before the tide comes back in and the water is high enough for the orca to swim free. Angus is moved by his grandson's determination and helps as best he can. They both desperately hope that soon the orca will be able to join its family, who have been calling out to it just offshore.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don't like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible. Available in French as Échoué.

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  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      October 1, 2019
      A teen connects with his grandfather on a remote island. Fourteen-year-old Dylan has been sent to live with his maternal grandfather, Angus. Angus resides on a remote island, content to live quietly holed up in his tiny cabin and cut off from everyone else in the world. Dylan is disgruntled by the lack of 21st-century amenities on the small island, but he slowly comes around to the solitary lifestyle. When a young orca is beached upon the island's rocky shoreline, Angus and Dylan must cement their bond by getting it back in the water. The novel gets right to the point, traversing its slim page count quickly and sketching a grandfather-grandson relationship with efficiency and ease. Angus and Dylan are both hurting, but they don't jump right at each other's throats in some form of manufactured drama. There's a soft masculinity here, an old-school "gotta keep those feelings deep down inside" way of thinking that gives the book a steady and quiet pace. Those looking for screaming matches and flipped tables will be left disappointed, but there's an effective maturity to the relationship built here that is the book's big draw. Dylan and Angus both present white; one of the book's few secondary characters is Sikh. A short and simple but nevertheless effective tale of intergenerational understanding. (Fiction. 10-14)

      COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4
  • Lexile® Measure:560
  • Interest Level:6-12(MG+)
  • Text Difficulty:2-3

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