Swim That Rock by John Rocco (review)

With his father missing and presumed dead, and his mother shouldering the huge debt on their diner, it seems likely that twelve-year-old Jake will be forced to move from his Rhode Island fishing community to his grandparents’ home in Arizona. Two men have stepped up, though, with strategies for helping Jake dig his family out of the financial hole before the debt comes due. Gene, best friend to Jake’s father, takes the straight and narrow road, offering extra work on his quahogging boat and teaching him the art of commercial clamming. A more mysterious newcomer, whom Jake simply dubs “the Pirate,” whisks Jake off on midnight money-making jaunts of more lucrative but illicit nature. The money’s trickling in, but foreclosure is coming up even faster, and Jake puts it all on the line by taking Gene’s boat on a solo run to make one huge, decisive haul. Landlubbers who think they won’t give a rip for a novel about clamming have another think coming. Jake’s efforts make for a dangerous business, even without loan sharks closing in, and the grab-a-buck antics of the Pirate add yet another layer of suspense to an already tightly plotted tale. There’s a happy ending—perhaps a tad too tidy for the murky buildup—but it’s honestly won, and, like all good maritime novels, this one will have landlocked kids pining for a strong gust of salt spray.