What I Just Read

I just finished reading the young adult novella The Edge of Nowhere by John Smelcer. It’s an adventure story about a discontented teenage boy who, in trying to help his dog, gets swept over the side of his father’s salmon fishing boat during a storm and must survive the Alaskan wilderness to make it back home.

During his trials, the teenager, Seth, contemplates the recent death of his mother, his tendency to seek comfort through food and video games, and the nearly forgotten culture of his Native Alaskan grandmother.

It was a fast read with plenty of action and interesting lessons on survival. Young readers who enjoy adventure and survivalist stories will root for Seth to not only find his way home but to find his way back to the person he once was.