The Edge by Ben Bo. Date of Publication: 1998 ISBN: 0822509679 Number of Pages: 138

REQUIRED READING ABILITY: Easy
GENRES: Adventure, Sports
THEMES: Survival, Coming of Age, Sacrifice and Redemption

SUMMARY:
Delcan, a graffiti artist, is a troubled teenager. His only friends are ones he'd no sooner met than lost, due to an accidental fire that he is accused of starting. The only one to survive, Delcan is sent to the Start Two Program at Moose Jaw Ski Lodge. It is here, surrounded by snow and people who do not know his past, that his story begins. Under the watchful eye of his First Nations guardian, Declan begins to find redemption working and snowboarding at a ski lodge in the mountains surrounding Canada’s Glacier National Park. When he decides to tackle the ultimate snowboarding run -- The Howling Wolf---he learns to say good-bye to his past once and for all, and embrace his future...

WHO WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK? A kid who...

• is interested in snowboarding
• wants lots of action
• likes a story with some teenage action elements
• likes stories set in the present, with realistic characters and scenarios
• has a defiant streak
• is into mountains and nature
• is a reluctant reader (especially a male one)
  

WHAT ELSE?
The language, the realistic reaction of characters, even the typeset, all work to bring the reader into Delcan's world, a world in which he feels he must "fly or die" and face the ultimate snowboarding run -- The Howling Wolf.

RELATED LINKS:
Canada Ski and Snowboard Association
SnowCanada