Red Kayak

Good book, engaging

Don’t start reading this book if you have plans. I literally couldn’t put it down!! I read the entire book in 3.5 hours!

So I had to read this book for school and at first I was absolutely feeding it. But now that I've finished the book I really enjoyed it. I recommend the book for readers of all ages! (

Red Kayak is a powerful story that pulls you in right from the beginning. It starts off feeling like a simple tale about friends and life on the Chesapeake Bay, but it quickly turns into a tense, emotional journey about choices, guilt, and doing the right thing. The main character, Brady, feels incredibly real. You really get pulled into his struggle after the accident and the secret he uncovers. The book deals with heavy themes—responsibility, honesty, and how one decision can change everything—but it’s written in a way that’s easy to follow and perfect for younger readers too. The pacing is fast, the emotions feel honest, and the story stays with you long after you finish it. It’s the kind of book that makes you think about consequences and courage. Overall, a very strong middle-grade/teen novel with real heart and a meaningful message. A great classroom read or personal read alike.

"Each must make his life as flowing in tumbling block or a stepping stone while common people like you and me we'll be builders for eternity each is given a bag of tools a shapeless mass and the book of rules" -- Llewellyn/Morgan/Sibbles, "Book of Rules" "From where we stood, you could see down the grassy slope behind our house, on past Dad's shop and the dock, to the creek. And out there, heading our way, was Mr. DiAngelo's new red kayak." Brady Parks is a hardworking thirteen-year-old son of a Chesapeake Bay waterman. He and his two longtime friends, Digger and J.T., are waiting for their ride to school one April morning when they see that red kayak go by in the distance. "Cupping his hands around his mouth, Digger pretended to call out: 'Paddle hard, you sucker!' "He and J.T. exchanged this look I didn't quite catch, and J.T. started laughing, too. "But I shook my head. 'He shouldn't be going out there today. When he gets down to the point--he'll fly down the river.' I was sure Mr. DiAngelo didn't know about how the wind picked up once you left our creek and hit the open water. Not to mention the spring tides. Sometimes they were so strong they'd suck the crab pot buoys under. I doubted whether Mr. DiAngelo knew that; he'd only had the kayak a few weeks. " 'Really, guys. We ought to yell something,' I said soberly." Although he's quite fond of the man's wife and little boy, Ben, for whom he's baby-sat, Brady and his friends are not fans of Mr. Marcellus DiAngelo, who has bought Digger's grandfather's farm, replaced the old farmhouse with a mansion, and eliminated the boys' access to the surrounding lands where they've always been able to play, and which Digger had always used as a getaway from his abusive dad. "Sneering, Digger stuffed his hands in his pockets. 'Look Brady, if he's stupid enough to be out there today, he can take what's coming. Besides, he deserves it.' " So they don't call out a warning. And then later that morning, when his father comes to take him out of school to assist with search efforts, Brady learns that it was actually Mrs. DiAngelo, taking Ben out for a ride, who had been paddling the red kayak in those frigid waters. Thus begins Brady's moral journey through this action-filled page turner. Brady's rescue and resuscitation of Ben makes Brady a hero for a day--until Ben dies from the effects of his exposure. Brady's friends distance themselves from him, and he is left alone with the secrets of the trio's actions and inactions. "My mind sure was drifting. Looking back, I could see there were things we three did that I would never forget. Boy, like the day we were playing ice hockey and I went through the ice on that cow pond. It was Digger who saved my life. I can still see him sprawled toward me, his chin bleeding, his tooth chipped forever, reaching both of his bare, cold hands out to me while I thrashed around in that freezing water and couldn't get a grip because the edges of the ice kept breaking. 'Grab on, Brady! Grab on!' And J.T. in the background, holding Digger's ankles so he wouldn't go down with me." The long-term process that Brady navigates in his attempts at discovering "the right thing to do" is paralleled by that of Brady's dad. Mr. Parks is seeking a solution to his own problems involving decreasing income due to the dwindling inventories of crabs in the Chesapeake fishery. Dad must decide whether or not to participate in the political actions being organized by his fellow watermen who are calling for less restrictions on their crab harvesting. "Pressure pushing down on me Pressing down on you no man ask for Under pressure that brings a building down Splits a family in two Puts people on streets" --David Bowie/Queen, "Under Pressure" Another parallel involves the loss by Brady's family--prior to the story--of his little sister Amanda from SIDS. Brady's previous experience makes him quite cognizant of the effect Ben's loss must be having upon Mr. and Mrs. DiAngelo. The pressure within Brady builds as his complicated feelings about guilt and friends and family consume his days and compel him to seek a way out of the dilemma. "I thought I'd wake up feeling relieved the next morning. Like a weight had been taken off my shoulders because of the action I'd finally taken. But it didn't start out that way, and I wondered while I poked at the scrambled eggs Mom had made whether it was something I just had to get used to first, like a new haircut." RED KAYAK provides a winning balance between the outdoor action and settings, and Brady's inner turmoil. From the muck on the crab traps to Brady's yellow lab tearing through the tall grass to retrieve a ball, the descriptions brought me gladly back to locales I've previously explored with the likes of Dicey Tillerman and Tunes Smith. Readers will surely be caught up in Brady's story of life and death on the river, as he finds himself trapped between a rock and a hard place, while killer currents and dangerous obstacles just under the surface threaten to take him under.

The Red Kayak is one of the best young adult books I’ve ever red. It takes you into the lives of three teenagers and how their camaraderie turns south over a “prank” that went out of control. Cummings wrote with a deep knowledge and understanding of children, families, and life. Her plot keeps you reading intensely right up to the very ending. It provides excellent discussion opportunities for right vs wrong and will leave you reflecting on the fragility of life and the bonds of friendship. This was required reading for the summer before 6th grade, and I honestly couldn’t put the book down. I’m looking forward to my daughter settling down with this book and asking thought-provoking questions about what life is all about. Other than some foul language used very appropriately, the book is a must read for children and adults alike.

This book was read in our middle school such a great lesson for this age!!! The suspense keeps you reading.

Other reviewers have adequately addressed issues of character development and ethical dilemmas. Sadly, despite claiming to have consulted a raft of experts, the author so badly botched the Chesapeake boating details that I almost threw in the towel on reading past the completely implausible rescue. We’re expected to believe that the protagonist navigated the Corsica river, then the approx 3 mile width of the Chester to the peninsula on which Rock Hall is located (not to mention that Rock Hall itself would require rounding the peninsula and passing a half dozen or more marinas) all while continuously performing CPR. And although the protagonist wished he had called out to the kayak to warn the kayaker about the conditions, presumably meaning he thought the kayak was close enough that his voice would carry to the kayak, none of the three boys present were able to tell that the kayak had a woman and small child on it rather than a full-grown buffed man. And no one considered any possibility of foul play when the mother who survived described the kayak sinking even though kayaks are near impossible to sink absent physical damage. Books set on the Chesapeake are rare, and I was saddened that the Bay was so poorly dealt with in this one.