ON DIFFERENT SHORES

by Jen McVeity ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1998

A touching novel about the conflicts that arise in a ""combined"" family after a divorce, and a teen's growing realization and acceptance of her father's imperfections. Tess used to be a swimming champ, but she gave it up, because of reoccurring nightmares and because her politician father seemed to value her successes more than he valued her. Now married to his second wife, Kate, he is putting the same pressure on Tess's half-sister Laura, who competes on the trampoline. Tess lives with her mother on weekends, and with Kate and Laura the rest of the week; she'd rather spend more time with her mother but is tom between the two households. Unbeknownst to her family, Tess is involved in a ""green"" guerrilla group, staging protests for animal rights and environmental issues. When the group gets caught by the police, the dysfunction in her two families becomes more apparent. The warm characterizations rescue this story from all the clichÆ’s surrounding broken families; this engrossing Australian tale has a refreshing view of children struggling with the fallout from divorce. Tess's growing awareness of her dad's imperfections and his realization of his own shortcomings make the ending not only happy, but believable.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1998

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 168

Publisher: Orchard

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1998

Categories: CHILDREN'S