Skiff Beaman is 12 years old and struggling on his own in a fishing town on the coast of Maine. His father if grieving over his mother's death by doing nothing but watch TV and drink beer. Skiff realizes he must be the breadwinner if they are to survive. He needs to raise their boat the Mary Rose, and earn money for supplies to repair her. After many setbacks, Skiff sets out to try and harpoon a bluefin tuna in the open sea for money. This second half of the book does some paralleling on Hemingway's, The Old Man and the Sea.
I loved to read about Skiff's determination to succeed. It's an inspiring book from that viewpoint. There's lots of action and I think kids will like this book.
