Absolute Pressure

by Sigmund Brouwer

Overview

Ian has been going to Key West every summer for years, helping his Uncle Gord at his dive shop and spending as much time as he can underwater. When he's not diving, he's admiring Sherri, the girl who works at the dive shop, and wondering how she would feel if he told her that he tastes blackberries whenever he sees her. A series of accidents leads Ian to believe that his uncle is in grave danger, but the truth is more complicated and terrifying than he could ever have imagined.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554691302
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	04/01/2009
Series:	Orca Sports
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	430,342
Product dimensions:	4.20(w) x 6.90(h) x 1.90(d)
Age Range:	10 - 15 Years

About the Author

Sigmund Brouwer is the author of over 20 novels for adults and dozens of books for children. He visits over 150 schools per year to deliver his Rock and Roll Literacy presentation, reaching about 60,000 students per year. Sigmund lives in Red Deer, Alberta. For more information, visit www.sigmundbrouwer.com.

Read an Excerpt

For a couple of seconds, I bucked and danced at the end of my line. I was like a rag doll shaken by a giant.

Was it a great white shark, twisting and turning me from side to side, like a bulldog with a rat in its jaws?

I couldn't see what was happening. It was dark, and air bubbles kept exploding around my face mask.

Don't panic! I told myself. Don't panic!

I tried to think it through. I didn't feel razor-sharp teeth cutting through my wet suit. So it wasn't a shark.

Don't panic. Don't panic.

Editorial Reviews

"Students who are looking for something action-packed to read will find this book full of continual action and suspense...A good book to have in a Junior High reading library."

Resource Links

"Takes the reader into an exciting and fast-paced world of deep sea diving, treasure hunting, attempted murder and cover-up…Part of the 'Orca Sports' series, Absolute Pressure will provide teachers with a read-aloud that will capture the imagination of boys while holding appeal for a general younger teen audience…Recommended."

CM Magazine

Author of more than a dozen books in the "Orca Sport" series, Brouwer has created a winning combination of accessible reading level, interesting characters and subject matter, and page-turner plots. Here, Ian has spent summers working in his Uncle Gord's dive shop in Key West for years; it has been his habit since his dad faked his death and left. Ian loves scuba diving and he's pretty enamored of the young woman who also works at the shop, Sherri. Every time he sees her, he tastes blackberries, but he doesn't tell her or anyone because most people would respond to his synesthesia as just being weird. The story opens with Ian having to make an "emergency rise" from 93 feet down, a sure-fire way to kill yourself if you don't know what you're doing and a guaranteed case of the bends. The significance of this maneuver is explained in lay terms throughout the narrative so that readers realize exactly how dangerous this is. Ian and his uncle subsequently discover that the valve failure that precipitated this "accident" was sabotage, and the story goes from there. Was the attempted murder targeted at Ian or his uncle? Does it involve a mysterious Spanish sunken treasure or more contemporary sources of big money? One of the most enjoyable characteristics of this book is that explanations about diving and synesthesia are provided throughout the story, so it is educational as well as entertaining. As a result, this well-written book is one that you can recommend to reluctant readers with good conscience and high expectations for success. Reviewer: Paula McMillen, Ph.D.

Children's Literature - Paula McMillen