A Small Boat at the Bottom of the Sea - Hardcover

Thomson, John G.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1571316574 ISBN 13: 9781571316578

Publisher: Milkweed Editions, 2005

Synopsis

From swimming to the bottom of the ocean to reclaim a sunken boat, to standing up to bullies, to asking questions that might have painful answers, twelve year-old Donovan Sanger has some capabilities that the grown-ups around don't. This is why his dad has asked Donovan to go spend the summer with an Aunt and Uncle he barely knows. Aunt Hattie has become very ill with lung cancer and she and Uncle Bix need "a little moral support," as Donovan’s dad puts it. Uncle Bix is a mechanical genius who just a couple of years ago was released from jail for his role in a robbery. Before a week goes by, Donovan is sent underwater in a wetsuit so small he can barely breathe, is given a very short haircut in his sleep by Uncle Bix, who says it will "give him some strength," and learns that his uncle’s criminal past might be something he has not entirely left behind. As the summer progresses, Donovan helps brings a boat up from the bottom of Puget Sound and care for his Aunt, all the while trying to discover just what Uncle Bix is doing at secret meetings with his ex-convict friends.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7–Donovan Sanger, 12, spends the summer on Puget Sound with his ex-con uncle and his aunt, who is dying of lung cancer. His father has been estranged from his older brother for years, but Bix needs help now. Donovan is a solid individual, a keen observer full of questions, and gifted with a sense of adventure. He suspects that Uncle Bix has not left his life of crime behind. Bix, a mechanical genius, is determined to salvage a wrecked boat from the bottom of the sound, fix its engine, and mount it onto a '63 Chris Craft. But to do so he needs to borrow a powerful winch from his unsavory ex-con acquaintance Gus Hanks, a racist who seems to be behind the hate crimes directed at an African-American family. And Gus's son, Earl, has decided that Donovan is someone he can bully. As Aunt Hattie becomes sicker and weaker, the boy is challenged to find courage not only to dive down to attach a cable to the sunken boat, but also to face his aunt's impending death. Touches of humor and moments of fear help to move the story along. Thomson weaves the many plot elements into a solid adventure story. A satisfactory, but unexpected ending reaffirms the courage, self-reliance, and resilience of youth. Reminiscent of books by Will Hobbs, this compelling first novel will also appeal to reluctant readers.–Kathryn Kosiorek, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH
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Review

"In this small but well-observed novel, the way Donovan, not quite 13, rises to the occasion is moving and believable." -- The New York Times Bookshelf, June 18, 2006

About this edition

• Publisher: Milkweed Editions
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1571316574
• ISBN 13: 9781571316578
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 152