The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California

The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California

Authors

Mary Hershey

Publisher

Penguin Group

Publication Year

2007

ISBN

9781595141507

Pages

275 pages

Genre

realism

Format

novel

Item Type

Fiction

Annotation

Alastair, a thirteen-year-old who calls himself "Stump" because of his amputated leg, must face a summer at his wealthy but estranged father's beach house in Los Angeles, where he meets his stepmother, falls in love with a teenaged soap opera star, and decides to train for a race with a former Olympic swim coach.

Grade Level

3-5; 6-8

Lexile Measure

600L

Diversity Topics

Family Relationships; Disability and Health; Divorce; Step parent; Physical disability; Addiction; divorced parents; step mother; acquired limb difference/amputation; missing leg; alcoholism

Main Character

male teenager

Race/Ethnicities

White

Family Formation

divorced mother and father; step mother

Awards

Thumbs Up! Award, 2008, Nominee
Core Collection YA Characters with Special Needs, 2008

Keywords

summer; swimming; Los Angeles, California; father and son; moving on; accident; prosthetic legs

Diversity Impact

direct

The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California

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