John Dowd

An action adventure book I recall reading part of in my elementary school years. I finished it recently as an adult. It's an easy enough read, geared best toward kids with an interest in boating and exploration I imagine, as the mystery portions feel less stand out than the experience of being a young kid in the wilderness of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Jim, age 12, works a fishing boat over the summer while coming to grips with his father's death the previous year. He makes friends with Julia, age 10, also spending the summer on the boat.

The book shows some age with it's language and references to companies like Canadian Air Lines that no longer exist, but it does describe the history of the Queen Charlottes and is probably the first place I heard the name "Haida Gwaii" more commonly used now.

The story could have been more engaging in my opinion, which might be why I didn't finish it as a kid, but my judgement might not be for a book meant for younger audiences. As a small piece about the British Columbia coast where I grew up, I enjoyed it.… (meer)