Craig Moodie

Grade 6–9 Luke, 16, never wanted to go on the trip in the first place. A week spent on a dinky old sailboat off Cape Cod with his parents doesn't seem like much fun. Then his mother, a painter, abruptly packs her things and leaves, telling Luke that she doesn't know when–or if–she'll be back. Luke is less enthusiastic about the sailing trip than ever, but his father insists that they proceed as planned. The tension between them builds–and then an unexpected storm overtakes the boat, sweeping Luke's dad overboard. Not knowing whether he is dead or alive, Luke must salvage the sailboat and survive on his own on the open sea. Reminiscent of the best adventure stories of Gary Paulsen, this gripping novel skillfully blends family drama with survival tale. The text is rich with sailing details that may be unfamiliar to some landlubbing readers, but Moodie does a fine job making the scenes come alive with vivid, authentic descriptions. The characters are complex and sensitively limned, and readers will be drawn into the conflict between Luke and his father as fully as they are into Luke's struggle to save his boat and find rescue. This is a book that will appeal both to adventure lovers and to readers outside of the typical action-adventure demographic.

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When Luke’s sailing trip goes horribly wrong, he must face the vast and brutal sea in this story of one boy’s survival and coming-of-age. On the evening before Luke’s family’s annual summer sailing trip off Cape Cod, Luke’s mother leaves. Luke is left with his angry, confused father on a small boat for a week and the trip goes horribly wrong when a summer storm sweeps Luke’s father overboard. Not knowing whether his father is dead or alive, Luke must figure out how to survive on a wrecked sailboat far out to sea. Fans of Gary Paulsen and Will Hobbs will be captivated by Craig Moodie’s depiction of the North Atlantic in this coming-of-age adventure.