A Haunting Tragedy

Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings

Adolescent Fiction

I loved every single thing about this book.  The narrator in this story was perfect in telling his tale-not over-emotional or sentimental, which made the horror and tragedy in it so much more real.  I loved how the book started with a mystery and the narrator worked at this niggling feeling when he didn't even know there was a mystery.  The cover was haunting and brilliant.  It completely captured the feel of the book.

Brady's life turns upside down when he plays the hero in a missing person's alert.  When his neighbors, a mother and her three-year old son, go missing in the Chesapeake Bay, Brady rushes to help.  He knows the area better than most people.  He finds the missing kayak and the small boy Benjamin, but was it in time to save him? 

Brady's big moment soon turns into a nightmare that gets worse with each passing day.  He begins to suspect that his best friends J.T. and Digger might have had something to do with the kayak sinking and he soon has to confront his own guilt in the situation.

I loved that this book didn't pull any punches and didn't make any apologies for the characters or their actions.  The tragedy that occurred was a crime and it was dealt with just that way.  Life doesn't always have a happy ending and I love books that don't try to make one.  There is a lot of depth to this story.  For its short length, it's a real nail biter!