A Small Boat at the Bottom of the Sea

The perfect summer-reading adventure for boys, this contemporary novel features twelve-year-old Donovan, asked by his dad to spend the summer in Puget Sound with an aunt and uncle he barely knows. Aunt Hattie is ill with cancer, and she and Uncle Bix need some support. The trouble is, only Donovan can provide it, because his dad and Uncle Bix — who was recently released from jail for robbery — haven''t spoken for years. Naturally, Donovan is curious about his uncle''s past, and the summer he spends in the Sound turns out to be one he''ll never forget. Whether he''s helping his uncle reclaim a sunken boat, caring for and learning from his aunt, or wondering about his uncle''s secret meetings with ex-convict friends, Donovan discovers there are some things children can do that grown-ups can''t or won''t — including asking difficult questions. His questions about his uncle help him realize the courage it takes to attain redemption, and the power of strong relationships to help people look beyond the bad choices others make and see the good inside them.

From swimming to the bottom of the ocean to reclaim a sunken boat, to standing up to bullies, to asking questions that might have painful answers, twelve year-old Donovan Sanger has some capabilities that the grown-ups around don''t. This is why his dad has asked Donovan to go spend the summer with an Aunt and Uncle he barely knows. Aunt Hattie has become very ill with lung cancer and she and Uncle Bix need "a little moral support," as Donovan’s dad puts it. Uncle Bix is a mechanical genius who just a couple of years ago was released from jail for his role in a robbery. Before a week goes by, Donovan is sent underwater in a wetsuit so small he can barely breathe, is given a very short haircut in his sleep by Uncle Bix, who says it will "give him some strength," and learns that his uncle’s criminal past might be something he has not entirely left behind. As the summer progresses, Donovan helps brings a boat up from the bottom of Puget Sound and care for his Aunt, all the while trying to discover just what Uncle Bix is doing at secret meetings with his ex-convict friends.