The Ledge (Orca Soundings)

Series: Orca Soundings
Publication Date: 1 Apr. 2020
Format: Paperback / softback

ISBN 9781459824614

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    Nick was used to being good at everything. Hockey, football, track, they all came easy to him. Surfing was his latest passion. That is, until the accident. Now partially paralyzed, Nick is angry, depressed and getting far too fond of his prescription meds. But his frequent visits to his physiotherapist, a Syrian refugee, and a budding friendship with a partial amputee who has also experienced firsthand the horrors of war help him start to piece his life back together.

    A story about overcoming the odds and changing your life for the better.

    Information

    Book Type: Junior High
    Age Group: 13 years +
    Traffic Lights:
    Class Novel: No
    Good Reads Rating: /5
    Literary Rating: /5

    Review

    Nick loves surfing more than anything. He's determined to catch the biggest wave ever by surfing the Ledge, a massive swell that breaks over a flat rock. It's dangerous, but that doesn't stop Nick from skipping school and paddling out to the Ledge first thing in the morning. The massive wave swallows him and throws him down onto a flat rock. He hits his head before he is pulled deeper underwater and blacks out.

    Nick wakes up in an ambulance, vomiting and in agonising pain. In hospital, he is told he may never walk again, and a month later he arrives at school in a wheelchair. Nick is struggling to deal with the medication, the embarrassment of being in a wheelchair, the people feeling sorry for him, and the difficulty of everyday life. Most of all, he's angry at himself for being so irresponsible.

    Nick's frustration is made worse when everyone refuses to tell him how he was saved from the ocean in the first place. The only thing that makes Nick smile is Keira, the angry goth girl at school that does not pity him or give him special treatment like everyone else. Their angry banter brightens Nick's days, as does Keira's idea of finding his rescuer together.

    A paramedic reveals that Arnie, an eccentric old surfer who Nick use to bully, had saved him and called the police. Feeling guilty, Nick travels with Keira to visit Arnie, only to see group of teenagers trying to beat him up. Nick and Keira save him from the teenagers, and Nick apologises and thanks him for saving his life. Nick learns to forgive himself for his mistakes and move forward as a new person rather than mourning the life he used to have. That allows him to cultivate a better relationship both with himself and with the people around him -- like Ahmad, his physiotherapist, and O.C., an amputee .

    Told in first-person perspective, Nick's bitingly sarcastic voice immerses the reader in his battle with self-hatred. Nick's journey to self-acceptance and happiness, marked by his changing attitude towards his saviour, is difficult but rewarding.

    Themes


    Content Notes

    1. Language: shit x 7, bitch x 1, Jesus x 1 (p94). 2. Ahmad tells Nick that his son was killed in a missile strike (p. 60-62). 4. Nick is prescribed painkillers (p. 21, 36). Mention of cigarettes (p. 30).

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