Bristol Bay Summer

"In Boochever’s debut middle-grade novel, a reluctant young girl coping with her parents’ breakup becomes part of the fishing community at Alaska’s Bristol Bay. After her parents’ divorce, 13-year-old Zoey Morley left her home in Colorado to follow her mother and little brother to Anchorage, Alaska. Now, a year later, she still hasn’t heard from her father and must leave the city (and her best friend) to spend the summer at Bristol Bay, so that her mother’s boyfriend can make money transporting salmon in a rickety old Cessna plane. Despite Zoey’s anger at being uprooted again, and her unwillingness to accept Patrick as part of her family, she gradually begins to appreciate the rugged beauty of Bristol Bay and the hardworking people who earn their living fishing there. She starts to settle in when she meets Thomas Gamble, a native boy who lost his father in a tragic fishing accident. The Gambles give Zoey a job with Thomas, running setnets to catch salmon, and she hatches a plan to save enough money to fly to Colorado and find her father. However, after a horrific accident, she must reevaluate her relationship with Patrick and what it really means to be a family. Boochever suffuses her tale with the kind of vivid details only a longtime Alaskan could know, from her descriptions of the majestic landscape to the finer points of commercial salmon fishing. She has a gift for drawing readers in, and a penchant for bringing the details of character’s experiences to life, as in this description of Zoey cleaning up after her first fishing experience: “The bulky clothing felt even heavier and definitely stinkier as Zoey shrugged herself out of the grimy rubber pants and let them fall on the ground near the door.” At the same time, the book delivers scenes of action and suspense in a wholly realistic, organic way. A wonderfully atmospheric debut." —Kirkus Reviews
"When Zoey's parents divorce, her dad disappears, and her mom uproots her—twice. She feels angry and alone. Through the hard work of living in a wild part of Alaska, she comes to rely on strengths she never knew she had. She learns compassion for those around her, coming to understand that their lives are at least as difficult as her own. This is a powerful story of a girl becoming a woman, a story of land and sea and artistry." —Peggy Shumaker, Alaska State Writer Laureate 2010-2012
"Having spent 23 delightful Bristol Bay summers myself, I’m thrilled that Annie Boochever has written a book that so perfectly captures both the coming of age of a young adult in this uniquely Alaskan setting, but more importantly, provides insights into the profound rich cultural heritage of this fishery. Bristol Bay Summer is a must-read for anyone—young and old alike—wishing to better understand the critical importance of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery to both feeding the world AND feeding the soul!” —Sue Aspelund, Executive Director, Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association
"Books about the real Alaska are few and far between. BRISTOL BAY SUMMER, the newest addition to the canon, is the real thing. Through the eyes of Alaskan newcomer Zoey Morley, we fall in love with the power and beauty of Bristol Bay and its people. Annie Boochever’s prose is as fierce and elemental as the land itself; her story takes readers to the edge of the cliff and back again."—Debby Dahl Edwardson, author of My Name is Not Easy (National Book Award Finalist, A Junior Library Guild Selection; Best Children's Books of 2011, Washington Post) and Blessing's Bead (ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2011. Booklist Top 10 First Novels for Youth: 2010)
“Bristol Bay Summer made me miss Alaska. Its authentic, wonderfully written story includes the joys and challenges of growing up in the Last Frontier.” —Jewel, singer-songwriter, author, and proud native of Homer, Alaska