The Ledge

by Lesley Choyce

Overview

Nick was used to being good at everything. Hockey, football, track, they all came easy to him. Surfing was his latest passion. That is, until the accident. 

Now partially paralyzed, Nick is angry, depressed and getting far too fond of his prescription meds. But his frequent visits to his physiotherapist, a Syrian refugee, and a budding friendship with a partial amputee who has also experienced firsthand the horrors of war help him start to piece his life back together. 

A story about overcoming the odds and changing your life for the better.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459824614
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	01/28/2020
Series:	Orca Soundings Series
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	407,423
Product dimensions:	4.25(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	HL620L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Lesley Choyce, who has been teaching English and creative writing for over 30 years, is the author of more than 90 books of literary fiction, short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction and young adult novels. He has won the Dartmouth Book Award, the Atlantic Poetry Prize and the Ann Connor Brimer Award. He has also been short-listed for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humor, the White Pine Award, the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award, the Aurora Award from the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association and, most recently, the Governor General’s Literary Award. He lives in Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia.

Editorial Reviews

This story is simple, but it contains much food for thought. Such a short book needs to be impeccably structured to keep from being one-dimensional, and Choyce achieves this task admirably.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

2019-10-21
Nick's life comes to an abrupt turning point following a surfing accident.

When the wave Nick was surfing—of the type ominously called a ledge for its dangerous nature—rolls on top of him, it sends his body crashing onto a rock, and he ends up using a wheelchair for an indefinite period. The prognosis is rather bleak: The active and energetic teen who once exceled at football might never recover the use of his legs….The road to recovery, while laborious and sad—with countless painful sessions of physical therapy and multiple letdowns from a continuously smaller circle of former friends—is also marked with newly found and uplifting friendships: Ahmad, the physical therapist and a Syrian refugee, whose family quickly embraces the paralyzed teen; Ahmad's teenage cousin O.C., a partial amputee whose anger and irascibility resonate all too familiarly with Nick; Arnie, the drifter who saved Nick's life by calling 911; and Keira, the goth girl from school who went unnoticed for all these years. The author does a remarkable job of depicting the harsh realities of life-changing trauma, realistically taking readers through the challenging and frustrating times that follow. Carefully chosen, uncomplicated vocabulary doesn't detract from the depth with which each character is explored, making for an accessible and engaging read. Nick, Keira, and Arnie are assumed to be white.

A realistic exploration of post-trauma life and the power of friendships with appeal for reluctant readers. (Fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews