Bridge+to+Wiseman's+Cove



Abandonment is at the heart of fifteen-year-old Carl's story. Almost every significant figure in his life has left him. He and both siblings, Sarah and Harley, all have different fathers, and Carl has never known his. The family's name is well-known around town for all the wrong reasons. Carl's mother also comes and goes for long periods, leaving Sarah in charge. When nineteen-year-old Sarah goes overseas, Aunt Beryl reluctantly steps in as surrogate parent, although not without playing the welfare system to do so. Overweight, awkward, lacking in confidence, Carl is not a conventional protagonist, but his journeys to Wiseman's Cove in charge of the local ferry symbolise his own growth as a person. The reader leaves this novel richer for having known him.

Awards: Winner, CBCA Book of the Year: Older Readers, 1997; Children's Peace Literature Award, Australian Psychological Society, 1997 //CMIS//