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"She needed to swim. To be deprived of swimming would be like a perverse kind of drowning. She loved the sensation of power and speed, the feeling of glistening in a bed of foam." Jess is a passionate distance swimmer, and has been looking for a unique water challenge to test her endurance. But when her adored grandfather, an irascible artist, suffers a heart attack, she focuses all her energy on making him well.
"She needed to swim. To be deprived of swimming would be like a perverse kind of drowning. She loved the sensation of power and speed, the feeling of glistening in a bed of foam." Jess is a passionate distance swimmer, and has been looking for a unique water challenge to test her endurance. But when her adored grandfather, an irascible artist, suffers a heart attack, she focuses all her energy on making him well.
Though weak and perhaps dying, her grandfather insists that the family still take their planned vacation--a trip to the rural countryside where he spent his boyhood. There, Jess finds a river that is perfect for swimming, the same river that is the inspiration for her grandfather's latest painting, titled River Boy. As the shadowy image of a boy takes shape on her grandfather's canvas, Jess encounters her own river boy, a mysterious young man who seems to be able to swim as well as she does. In discovering how the two "river boys" are related, Jess finds both the swimming challenge she has been searching for and a graceful way to cope with her grandfather's passing.
British author Tim Bowler gently illustrates the fear of a loved one's passing by using a river's timeless flow as a metaphor for the journey of life. Teens will relate to Jess's frustration with her lack of control over her grandfather's situation, while being moved to a better understanding and acceptance of death. River Boy is the winner of the 1998 Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's literature. (Ages 11 and older) --Jennifer Hubert
From Publishers Weekly
Jess is 15 years old, the same age as her grandfather was when he lost both parents in a fire and moved away from his childhood home by the river. Now growing frail, his last wish is to return to the river and finish his last painting, entitled River Boy. Grandpa calls Jess his muse; she counts on him to cheer her on at her swim meets. As they commence their vacation, the unfinished painting troubles Jess, more so as she begins to sense a mysterious presence on the river. Then she begins to see the river boy himself, waiting for her, asking for her assistance in a special mission. The narrative builds too slowly, and some of the passages seem out of character or overblown (e.g., a few times Jess's parents mention that they feel they're neglecting her; Jess tells the river boy, "Stay a mystery a little longer. I can't take any more truth right now"). However, Bowler's (The Midget) 1998 Carnegie Medal winner succeeds in conveying the strong bond between Jess and her grandfather; as the novel unfolds, she realizes they have more in common than she'd ever imagined. Ages 12-up. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
It didn't start with the river boy. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
river boy New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
It didn't start with the river boy. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
river boy New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
10
books
cite this book:
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- The Feminine Subject in Children's Literature by C Wilkie-Stibbs on 4 pages
- Text Generation: Student Book Level 1 by Frances Gregory on page 11
- Storm Catchers by Tim Bowler in Front Matter
- Reading and Writing Across Content Areas by Roberta L. Sejnost on page 130
- The Complete Guide to Becoming an English Teacher by Mr Stephen R Clarke on page 303
See all 10 books citing this book
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