First hailed as a hero for his dramatic water rescue of a little boy, thirteen-year-old Brady Parks soon makes a discovery that puts him at the heart of an enormous tragedy. Alone with his dark secret, Brady is ultimately forced to choose between loyalty to his lifelong friends and doing what he knows in his heart is right. Priscilla Cummings weaves a suspenseful, multilayered tale of three teenage boys caught in a wicked web of their own making. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 7 Up-Brady, J.T., and Digger are friends from working-class families who live along the Chesapeake Bay, where crabbing and oyster fishing are a way of life and an extra source of income. Their parents' resentment toward developers and rich summer families rubs off on J.T. and Digger but not Brady, who befriends the DiAngelos and their toddler, Ben. When Mrs. DiAngelo and Ben go out in their new kayak on a cold, foggy morning, it overturns. Brady joins the rescue team and finds Ben barely alive in the water but, despite his heroic efforts to save him, the two-year-old dies from hypothermia. Once it is apparent to Brady that J.T. and Digger may have sabotaged the kayak as a prank, he faces a gut-wrenching, moral decision to tell a truth that would betray his friends and reveal his own, indirect culpability. The first-person approach works well here, and Brady's 13-year-old voice is fresh and lighthearted at times and introspective and grief-stricken at others. Cummings has created a multifaceted story that is as much about the families and life in the Chesapeake as it is about a prank gone awry. Brady's bighearted cousin Carl, his supportive father, and the anguished Mrs. DiAngelo are particularly well-developed characters who are pivotal in Brady's understanding of the path he must choose. This well-crafted story will have broad appeal.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 6-9. In this satisfying crime and coming-of-age drama, a toddler drowns in a kayak accident after friends of teenage Brady, the victim's neighbor, vent some anger against the child's dad by drilling holes in the bottom of his craft. It was a mean-spirited prank--but no one was supposed to die. What happens now? Revealing the terrible secret would implicate Brady's friends in the drowning, and it clouds his whole world with guilt and fear. Cummings works plot and characterizations skillfully, building suspense as the evidence unfolds and as Brady wrestles with his decision and tries to come to terms with his own responsibility. Brady's eastern-Maryland surroundings and heritage (his father, a waterman, struggles to make a living from crabbing) are also vividly evoked. Brady's ultimate decision is both anguished and well reasoned, making for a realistic conclusion. --Anne O'Malley Copyright 2004 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.