Re: Hanover Middle book suggestion

Hi Stacey. A book I would recommend is Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings. Here is a detailed review I have written.
Life on the Chesapeake Bay is about family and friends for 8th grader Brady. Brady helps his father pulling in crab pots, although the supply of crabs is dwindling, probably because all the Northerners moving in and developing, causing pollution (so the locals say). Brady’s best friend Digger is mad about his grandfather’s farm being sold to some rich couple (the DiAngelos) to build a big house on. J.T. who helps his family run a chicken farm, although a good friend, is mostly just a follower. Brady one day half-joking suggests they drill holes in Mr. DiAngelo’s red kayak so he will have to swim back to shore. Brady would never have followed through. Digger secretly drills holes in the kayak with Brady’s dad’s drill while J.T. serves as the look-out. On a chilly and misty April day, Mrs. DiAngelo takes their 3 year old son for a paddle. The boat sinks and Brady and others go out looking for the mother and child. Mother is rescued and Brady finds Ben hooked on to old piling, blue and near lifeless. Although Ben is alive when Brady gets to the dock and turns him over to rescuers, he later dies. Over the summer, Brady discovers the drowning was caused by his two friends. He debates what to do but ultimately tells his parents, gets an attorney who negotiates immunity for him in turn for his testimony. Digger and J.T. are found guilty of 2nd degree murder and sent to a juvenile forest camp for 9 months.

From Amy Wilson, Onslow Middle School