Description
When a sporty, outdoorsy teen's leg is crushed in a mountain-hiking accident, he has to face new challenges one tiny-but-huge step at a time. A fast-paced, powerfully told novel for middle-grade readers about limb loss, resilience and becoming excited about the future again.
What if you took a shortcut below some rocks and your whole life came sliding down?
High on the shingle slopes of Mount Pangonui, on a long-anticipated tramp to the summit, 14-year-old Ben encounters a pile of huge, half-buried boulders in his path. His dad's always telling him to go slow, be careful, but Ben's keen to get on with the climb, and takes a shortcut beneath them. What he hasn't reckoned is how unstable shingle can be. His sinking steps trigger a shift underfoot; the rocks begin a slow slide towards him. His last conscious realisation is that his leg is pinned under a boulder the size of a refrigerator.
In the intense days and weeks that follow, Ben recovers from the surgery that removed his left leg just below his knee, and his mind returns to the maunga, his impatience, thatsplit-second decision. Will anything ever be ‘normal’ again?
One goal keeps him going: he will finish the climb he started.
Review
Ben loves tramping up mountains with his dad and playing sport with his friends. His dad always tells him to be careful and go slowly, but Ben is always in a hurry - this time with disastrous consequences. As he tries to take a short cut, a huge boulder falls on him and crushes his lower leg. Despite a quick rescue, and the best efforts of his surgeon, his leg cannot be saved below the knee.
When Ben wakes from the surgery he is frightened of what this means for him. As he slowly relearns to do everything for himself in a different way he realises how much he must rely on other people to teach him. In the weeks that follow, Ben goes from being positive to despairing and back again. With the help of his friends and his parents, Ben slowly realises that he will be fine and, despite all the changes in his life, he is determined about one thing - one day he will finish the climb that he started.
This is a wonderful book about the resilience of the human spirit. Ben is a great character who you will be cheering on at every step. The story is fast-paced as Ben learns to adjust his life to only having one leg. Full of friendship, family and hope, this is a story that will be loved by all aged 13 and up. It would also make a fantastic classroom reading book.
