Swim That Rock


You really need to read this.

On April 8, Swim That Rock comes out, a young adult book by John Rocco (who illustrates all my covers) and Jay Primiano. I got to read an advance copy of the novel some months ago. Honestly, I started reading it just as a favor to a friend. That lasted about a page. Then I was hooked and I devoured the manuscript just because I wanted to. The story is full of adventure, emotion, humor, great characters, heartbreaking dilemmas . . . well, pretty much anything you could want in a book.

Swim That Rock tells the story of fourteen-year-old Jake, whose dad was lost at sea, and whose family diner is on the verge of getting repossessed by loan sharks. Jake desperately needs to raise money to help his mom, but his options are slim. He can try to go 'quahogging,' hoping to bring in enough clams from Narragansett Bay to pay the bills, or he can join up with a shady mysterious character who has his own not-exactly-legal ways of making money, and who might know something about the death of Jake's father. That's the basic plot, but there is way more to the book. It's one of those you just *have* to read.

Be sure you pick up a copy on Tuesday, April 8. You won't regret it!