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Overview
Abel Jackson loves to dive. He's a natural in the water. He can't remember a time when he couldn't use a mask and snorkel to glide down into the clear deep. Life is tough out at Longboat Bay. Every day the boy helps his mother earn their living from the sea and the land. It's hard work but Abel has the bush and the sky and the bay to himself. Until the day he meets Blueback, the fish that changes his life. Blueback is about people learning from nature.Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up—Ever since he can remember, Abel Jackson has loved the sea. As the story opens, Abel and his widowed mother are living in Longboat Bay, a remote area of Australia. They make their living by diving for abalones, careful to take only what is needed from the sea. The story spans 27 years. At the age of 10, Abel plays and works hard with his mother. A giant, somewhat mystical blue grouper is their constant underwater companion. Both mother and son are fiercely protective of the sea and the surrounding habitat. As the story progresses, they confront a greedy over-fishing poacher and unscrupulous land developers. Abel grows up, goes away to university, and becomes a marine biologist in an attempt to learn even more about the secrets of the sea. He marries another marine biologist, becomes a father, and eventually returns home to take care of his aging mother. The cycle begins anew as Abel's daughter meets Blueback. Stig Wemyss's lively voice and Australian accent adds to the authenticity of Tom Winton's story (Scribner, 1998) and keeps it moving along. The strong message threaded throughout the story is the need to protect and preserve the sea, its resources, and the surrounding habitat.—Mary Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHBook Details
Published
November 5, 2012
Publisher
Bolinda Audio
Format
Audiobook
ISBN
9781743140994