Ebb & Flow

Heather Smith’s beautifully written free verse novel, Ebb & Flow, has garnered a series of prestigious awards. In 2019, the book won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. That same year, it was short-listed for the Governor General’s Literary Award. It has been a winner or a short-listed contender for a number of provincial awards, including young readers’ choice awards. First published in 2018, Ebb & Flow is certainly a highly regarded book. Its 2022 release in paperback makes it even more affordable and accessible for a wide readership. It is a book deserving of a large audience.

The story is told in the first-person voice of an 11-year-old boy named Jett. After a difficult year, Jett’s mother needs a break. His father is in jail, so Jett is sent to spend the summer with his grandmother, who is 73. Ebb & Flow is a story of forgiveness, courage, redemption, resilience, and reconciliation. Through his interactions with his grandmother, Jett is able to articulate and refine his feelings about his father who is imprisoned for killing four people when he was driving drunk. Jett is able to work through his feelings of being let down by his parents, but also of letting himself down. He is able to regain some self-respect and to begin to heal.

Jett caries his own guilt as a weight around his neck. Throughout the previous year, he has struggled to find his place in the new town to which he and his mother moved after his father went to jail. Jett befriended a troubled boy named Junior. The two have been continually in and out of trouble ever since. Junior’s uncle, Alf, is a special needs man in his forties. Whilst Jett has generally treated Alf with kindness and compassion, Jett betrayed the man and stole from him. It was just one of several episodes of theft.

Free verse novels remain small in number but are increasing. When well written, they offer for young readers engaging, evocative, thought-provoking reading. Such is the case with Smith’s book. Ebb & Flow is skillfully written. The careful, precise word choices keep the book progressing at a fast pace, yet they still provide for readers enough room “between the lines” to make connections and to think deeply about the issues at hand.

Whether reading the book for the first time or revisiting a cherished, powerful story, the paperback release of Ebb & Flow is a boon for readers. Heather Smith was a deserving award winner. Ebb & Flow is a book that will engage, challenge, and trouble, upper-elementary and middle-school readers. Ultimately, however, it will uplift and inspire them. Ebb & Flow is one not to miss.