Swim That Rock

Fourteen-year-old Jake Cole’s father John has been missing and presumed dead for six months. John was a former quahogger in Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, but he had to quit after an injury. He and his wife opened a diner, The Riptide, but Jake’s mom has a hard time keeping it up by herself. They owe $10,000 to loan sharks, who have given them until the end of the month to come up with the money or lose the diner.

Fortunately, it is summer, so Jake can work hard. He not only helps out at the diner, but also serves as a “picker” on a quahog boat with his dad’s best friend Gene. As the story begins, Jake gets an opportunity to make even more money doing some “extra-curricular” activities with a mysterious man who seems to show more have his interests at heart. What this man wants Jake to do isn’t necessarily ethical or legal. But then Gene gets injured and can’t work at all. Jake has to figure out what is the best course to take for him and his mom. Without taking the route of illegal activity, there are plenty people around who loved Jake’s dad and love Jake and his mom too, but is it enough?

Discussion: I really liked this story. Some of the plot threads get dropped, and not all of it hangs together well or seems realistic, but the depiction of the quahogging lifestyle at the core of the book is terrific. I also liked Jake’s reaction to seeing the burned skin of the girl he likes, who has always has tried to hide herself under long-sleeved shirts.

Nevertheless, this book will inevitably be compared to the coming of age story of thirteen-year-old Miles O’Malley in the superbly lyrical book The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch (see my review here). I prefer to think of Lynch’s books on a different level altogether, and to judge this one for its own sake. For me, that meant that I liked Jake a lot, and I loved learning about quahogging. The atmosphere of this small town is so well-drawn I was reminded of another tour through fishing towns, Roads to Quoz: An American Mosey by William Least Heat-Moon, a memoir describing (in part) a trip along the coast with his wife in search of the perfect fish dip. Both the Lynch book and the one by Heat-Moon are wonderful, but I wouldn’t cross this one off the list.

Evaluation: This coming-of-age novel about a boy whose dad was lost at sea, and who now must take care of his family, makes you feel as if you are right there in Narragansett Bay with local clammers. There are some issues left unresolved, but they would make good discussion points for book clubs and parent co-readers. show less

I was drawn to this YA book because it is set in Narragansett Bay, RI, where we have a home. Plus clams are my favorite seafood and until this book, I had not the slightest idea of how they get to my plate. Well, like everything else worthwhile, there is much hard work involved. Jake's father is a quahogger (quahogs are clams, pronounced ko-hogs)and a skilled fisherman who disappears from his boat, presumably drowned. In his absence, Jake and his mother try desperately to save their restaurant from the clutches of local loan sharks. When a previously rich polluted clam bed is reopened, Jake sees it as his way to pay the vig.

It's a good story and you will eat your littlenecks and cherrystones with a fresh appreciation of the water show more farmers who dredged to feed you, and maybe you'll even quit complaining about the prices. show less

Jake refuses to believe his dad is dead, even though everything points to that being the case since he disappeared at sea. His mother is struggling to keep the diner running because they've lost the house and it's all they have left. Things look grim because they owe the local Mafia Wanna-be $10,000 and have a month to raise it. The story opens right in the middle of a hurricane with Jake trying to find the mysterious man who left him a message in the form of a $50.00 bill stuck to a post with a knife he believes belongs to his missing father. He locates the man in a seedy tavern. He's drunk, but orders Jake to accompany him on a questionable salvage operation in the middle of the storm that involves salvaging outboard motors and show more outrunning the Clam Cops.
After the storm passes, Jake goes to work for the mysterious Captain, harvesting illegal Quahogs in a closed area that's polluted. When they're chased by the Clam Cops, the Captain hits his head and Jake has to outrun the cops and get medical help.
Jake had planned to go Quahogging with his dad's best friend Gene, when the area that's been closed for a long time reopens, but while they're gathering clams at another location, the long rake handle breaks and Gene almost bleeds to death. Once again, Jake saves someone with his quick action.
Back at the diner, He's realizing that he likes Darcey, a girl his age who helps out and is terribly self conscious about her severely burned arm.
What Jake does on his own when the closed area reopens, including an impulsive act to help a stranger, coupled with his kindness toward Darcey make the last third of the book a truly engrossing and feel-good read. Tweens and teens will really enjoy this great coming of age tale. show less

Swim that Rock is a great coming of age story suitable for older children. It begins with our main character Jake as he tries to find the mysterious man who left a note for him about his father who has been missing for 6 months. While working odd jobs to help keep their family restaurant a float, Jake sets out on a quest with the strange man to make a little money before time runs out on pass due payments. This book was not something I would normally pick up to read but the book immediately picks up in action in the first couple of chapters. I ended up having a new appreciation for the novel. It is a great chapter book for older boys where they began to pull away from reading due to the limited amount of interesting subject matter. I show more think the moral of this story is that not everything is what it seems. Things that seem like a mystery, were actually answered right in front of you. show less

Jake is a young man trying to save his mom's restaurant and their livelihood. Since I don't live on the East Coast, some of the references didn't have the resonance that they might have for other readers. The main story and the secondary love story are both quite satisfying.

12 & up realistic fiction. Moving story with interesting & edgy characters, introducing many readers to quahogs & the life of a fishermen in New England. Nice resolution. My daughter chose this book mostly because Rick Riordan recommended it.

Jake's Dad has been lost in afishing boat accident so 14 year old Jake must work as a quahogger ( clam catcher) on another boat to save his family's diner from a mob who want their debts paid.