0

Language

Currency

Public Price - Book Curator
  1. Products
  2. Social Themes
  3. Crash (Orca Soundings)
Public Price - Book Curator
Crash (Orca Soundings)

Crash (Orca Soundings)

Series: Orca Soundings
Publication Date: 1 Oct. 2013
Format: Paperback / softback

ISBN 9781459805224

    $ 18.95 $ 18.95 18.95 AUD

    $ 18.95

    Option not available

    This combination does not exist.

    Add to Cart

    Just when 16-year-old Cameron thinks he's going to straighten out his troubled life, his parents break up and he ends up living on the street with his dog, Ozzie. He meets a girl named Mackenzie, who has been sleeping in a pup tent in the park. With her help, he tries to survive on the street and continue with school, despite the new challenges in his life.

    Finding a safe place for them to crash at night is difficult, and panhandling for money isn't as easy as it looks. Cameron learns that Mackenzie has her own emotional baggage to deal with, and life for a kid with a dog and no home gets even more challenging. After Mackenzie gets into some real trouble, Cameron realizes he needs to come up with a realistic solution if they are going to survive the turbulence.

    Information

    Book Type: Junior High
    Age Group: 14 years +
    Traffic Lights:
    Class Novel: No
    Good Reads Rating: 4/5
    Literary Rating: 4/5

    Review

    Being homeless isn't something Cameron ever thought would happen to him. He's a normal guy: he lives in a great house with his parents and his dog, goes to school, plays video games, eats junk food. That's the life he's always known. But after his dad tells him he's moving out, suddenly everything comes crashing down and Cameron finds himself out on the streets with his dog. His mother has moved in with her boyfriend and his dad is nowhere to be found.

    He quickly befriends Mackenzie, a girl who's a veteran at being homeless, and the two of them develop a survival handbook. One, go to school. Two, panhandle for money. And three, find someplace new to sleep every night. Even with their new survival rules, Cameron is barely holding it together. Mackenzie always seems to be able to find money though -- and at first Cameron has no idea how. But when a man kicks her out of a car with a bruised face, he has a sinking feeling that she's turned to prostitution.

    There's no-one left to turn to. But then a retired social worker takes them in. Margaret, disillusioned by the system, opened a halfway house to help the kids who fell through the cracks. Cameron and Mackenzie finally have somewhere safe to sleep.

    This is a brutally honest look at the desperation of teenagers abandoned by the system and left to fend for themselves. The adults around them range from callous to selfish, with rare exceptions from kind people like Margaret -- but even they have been broken down by the uncaring system. It's a comforting yet bittersweet conclusion, leaving readers with the understanding that Cameron's experiences could happen to anyone, and that there are many people like him without a Margaret or Mackenzie in their lives to help them survive.

    Themes

    homelessness, family, loss, friends, betrayal, fear

    Content Notes

    1. Violence: Mackenzie fights another girl at school (p. 113-115). Mackenzie is shoved out of a car with bruises on her face (p. 120-121). Dog bite (p. 120). 2. It's implied that Mackenzie has turned to prostitution to support herself. A man calls to her from a car (p. 75). She has more money than usual (p. 106). She is shoved out of a car (p. 120-121). Cameron realises what this probably means, although it is not stated outright (p. 123). Mackenzie kisses Cameron (p. 102). 3. Crime: Cameron thinks about his past and how he nearly got caught stealing a car and delivering drugs before deciding to turn his life around (p. 1). 4. Substances: Cameron (16-year-old) drinks a beer (p. 3). Eddy (adult) used to have a drug addiction but is now clean (p. 64). 5. Language: bastard x 1, shit x 2, bitch, x 1, Jesus x 1.

    How to Use the Site:

    MEMBER DISCOUNTS: For Member pricing, please sign in to your Book Curator account.
    WISH LISTS: Signing in will also allow you to create a wish list. Just choose the heart icon on each product you want to add. To view your list, click on the heart icon at the top right of your screen.
    COMPARING PRODUCTS: To compare products, use the scales icon.
    TO VIEW OR COMPLETE YOUR ORDER: Click on the cart icon at the top right of your screen.
    SHIPPING: Enjoy the low flat rate of just 12.95 shipping and handling to anywhere in Australia, no matter how large your order is.