Ebb and Flow
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A powerful story of betrayal, forgiveness and self-discovery. One summer, after a long plane ride and a rotten bad year I went to Grandma Jo’s. Ebb & Flow is the captivating story of eleven-year-old Jett’s summer back home on the coast after “a rotten bad year” in a new town. When his father went to jail, Jett and his mother moved away, and Jett quickly learned that fresh starts aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. He returns to spend the summer with his unconventional Grandma Jo, bringing along a secret about the betrayal of a friend. Will a summer spent with Grandma Jo help Jett come to terms with his mistakes and forgive himself? This emotionally charged story, told in free verse, will pull readers in and captivate them.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After a "rotten bad year," 11-year-old Jett goes to spend the summer with his grandmother on the island where his family lived until his father was sent to prison. In the past year Jett has begun acting out, which culminates with his participation in an act he is deeply ashamed of. Over the course of this free-verse novel, Jett has flashbacks of befriending a boy named Junior, who gives Jett's anger at his dad an outlet: together the boys steal money from a classmate and bully other kids. Junior's own story of abuse and neglect is uncovered as the boys journey together towards the act that gets Jett shipped off for the summer. The novel is also grounded in the present, as Jett's relationship with his "cotton candy granny" who dyes her hair bright colors, collects sea glass, and shares her own mistakes and wisdom with her grandson slowly heals Jett and allows him to confront his past. Smith's sparse language exposes the heart of Jett's anguish and destructive anger; he's a realistically complex character whose emotional development unfolds organically through Smith's quiet storytelling. Ages 9 12.
