Ebb and Flow by Heather Smith - ADVISABLE

Smith, Heather Ebb and Flow, 227 pages. Kids Can Press, 2018. $17. 

Content: Language: PG (5 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13 

MS – ADVISABLE  

Jett is spending the summer with his grandmother who lives on the coast.  Jett thinks his mother sent him to his grandma because Jett did something bad at home and his mom can’t handle him.  As Jett’s grandma loves him and supports him, the truth of what happened with Jett at home comes out and Jett starts to see that he can be a good person.   

This book is told in prose and I enjoyed reading it.  Jett’s grandmother is a great character with a kind heart and her belief in Jett is juxtaposed with the story of a friend from Jett’s home who is abused and mistreated by his own family.  The growth and development of Jett is heartwarming and told well in the prose style.  The violence is abuse and Jett’s friend steals and beats up his special needs uncle which is pretty upsetting.   

Reviewer, C. Peterson.