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Books:
Fast Hands
Author: John Pappenheimer
Illustrator: Kate Thompson
Epicenter Press, May 1, 2014
Fast Hands
follows the adventures of a 16-year-old boy, from Seattle to the magnificent Fairweather
fishing grounds off the coast of Alaska. The small port and ocean settings make this novel an unusual
entry in contemporary young adult fiction.
After running afoul of the law, Gus Pedersen is sent to
Alaska to fish with an uncle he has never met. He narrates his story with a mixture of sardonic observations
and naive disbelief. His over-the-top attitude is on a collision course with with his Norwegian uncle and two old crewmen.
Within two days, exhausted and convinced his uncle should be reported to the association for prevention of cruelty to teenagers,Gus quits.
But how do you quit on a fishing boat that is miles off shore?
To Gus's surprise his uncle doesn't scold him. Instead he reveals something
about the oldest crewman that shames Gus back to work. It is the beginning of a summer in which Gus learns something of what lies behind
the tough exterior of adults and learns a great deal more about himself and where he fits into the world.
Returning to shore, Gus faces another set of challenges.
He must avoid a bully off a neighboring seine boat; he must deal with a crush on a 19-year-old woman, with troubles of her own; and
he must figure out how to end a curse that has split his family apart for two generations.
Understated but intriguing characters and an original plot should appeal
to young readers who are familiar with the working waterfront and far more likely to own Xtratuf boots than a pair Jimmy Choo shoes.
SellSheet
Available at Barnes & Nobles and
Amazon, or order from your local bookstore
Shadowplays:
A modified version of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Story: How the Elephant's Child Got his Trunk
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