Abalone Summer

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Dowd’s second book for juveniles revisits the themes of adventure and
conservation found in Ring of Tall Trees. In the two years since his
father’s accidental death, Jim Martin, 12, of Kitsilano, British
Columbia, has not confronted his unresolved grief and, instead, has
become rebellious. Given the opportunity to escape the boring summer
months by working on a fishing boat with George McCrae, an old family
friend, Jim accepts, despite his apprehension about George’s possibly
being his mother’s new “love.” George, a diver doing contract
research for the Department of Fisheries, surveys the Queen Charlotte
Islands’ abalone beds to ascertain if the edible shellfishes are
sufficient in both size and numbers to allow licensed harvests. The
abalones’ high market price makes them subject to poaching, and it is
this point that drives the story’s action. Accompanied by 10-year-old
Julia Malaspina, the boat captain’s daughter, Jim stumbles on the
location of a poacher’s boat and sets in motion a chain of exciting
events that lead to the capture of both the poachers and the overseas
buyer’s trawler. Along the way, Jim also resolves the grief issue.

As expected of a good juvenile thriller, Abalone Summer allows readers
to experience vicariously a variety of exciting happenings such as
piloting an inflatable boat, paddling sea kayaks, riding in helicopters,
as well as chasing and being chased by the “bad guys.” Readers in
Grades 3 to 6 will appreciate that the book’s concluding pages set up
a sequel to be located in the Caribbean. Recommended.