Robert Newton does a John Green in this book with a big twist and a big heart. Nate is just being released from prison after refusing to rat on his two mates during a burglary where an old man was bashed and he took all the blame. He's been on drugs and a downward spiral since his mother died, as his father was a violent alcoholic, he basically has nowhere to go when he leaves. Enter Nate's Uncle Mick, a man who has had nothing to do with Nate and his mother but is related by blood, so the court awards custody as he is only 17.
Mick lives in a beach shack on an estuarine river where he used to breed Oysters until a virus wiped them out. He now makes his living by delivering shopping to rich holiday homes on the islands around his home. He tells Nate to get his boat licence and help him out. Nate isn't sure what to do until he meets Gem, a feisty doc-martin, coloured hair wearing local who stands out in the country town, and Henry , her little brother who marches to the beat of a different drum ( i.e. Aspergers) but who warms to Nate immediately, not to mention Barry the bull terrier named after the last surviving Bee Gee.
Then Nate finds some pamphlets about leukemia and everything changes.
At times funny, at times heart-breaking, ( I cried over Gem's happiness contract) this is the story of how people who are quirky but who care, and the beauty of the Australian bush, can put a broken boy back together, even when they are falling apart themselves.
Beautifully written. Highly recommended for older readers - fair bit of swearing but that is in keeping with the characters. ( )