Friday, July 5, 2019

THE LINE TENDER by Kate Allen

A line tender works with a dive team. The line is attached to a diver during search and rescue. A determined number of tugs on the line indicate if a victim has been found alive or dead or if the diver is in a dangerous situation. 

Lucy Everhart's father is a diver. Her mother was a marine biologist who studied sharks. Five years ago her mother died from a brain aneurysm. Lucy and her father have been getting by since then.

The summer of Lucy's twelfth year she and her best friend Fred have been working on a summer science project. Not many kids do schoolwork in the summer, but Lucy and Fred are dedicated to the subject of their project - marine life. They are creating a field guide for all the sea life they see along the coast. 

When a local fisherman snags a shark, Lucy and Fred are thrilled to include it in their guide. Inspired by her mother's research, Lucy and Fred are determined to create a detailed entry for the great white shark. Before they can finish, Lucy loses Fred in a tragic drowning accident in the local quarry. Now Lucy has lost two people she loves. As a way of dealing with her grief, Lucy sets a goal to investigate and carry on her mother's study of the great white sharks.

THE LINE TENDER is a heartbreaking story of a young girl's loss. Woven into the story are Lucy's drawings and a plethora of shark facts this reader found fascinating.

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