Red Kayak
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Priscilla Cummings |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Irene Vandervoort |
| Genre | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Dutton Juvenile |
Publication date | 2004 |
| Pages | 212 |
| ISBN | 0-525-47317-3 |
Red Kayak is a young adult novel by American author Priscilla Cummings. It was first published in 2004.
Synopsis
The Red Kayak is written from the point of view of a thirteen-year-old boy named Brady Parks. Brady is the son of a Chesapeake Bay waterman and his wife, Dee Parks. He loved the Corsica river where he and his family fish for crabs. A new family, the DiAngelos moves in next door to Brady’s family. They are one of the more well off families that recently moved into the neighborhood.
One day, Brady and his friends see the red kayak owned by the DiAngelos heading into the river. Brady is uneasy because he felt that it could be dangerous to be out on the river during that time because of the tides and the wind. Brady implores his friends to join him in yelling out a warning but his friends ignore him.
Later that day, Brady is asked to join a search and rescue mission to find Mrs. DiAngelo and her three-year-old son Ben. Relying on his dog’s instincts, Brady finally finds Ben. He desperately tries to revive him by giving him CPR and when he rows him ashore he is relieved to hear the paramedic say that he detected a pulse. For a while Brady enjoys his role as a hero but is soon overcome with sadness and guilt when he learns that Ben is dead.
Brady is surprised that his best friends J.T. and Digger are avoiding him after the tragedy. Initially he thinks it is because they don’t know how to talk to him. Brady decides that he may feel better if he uses his time to help the DiAngelos by offering his services to the family. He starts to work for Mrs. Di Angelo and even plants a butterfly garden for her. Just when he starts to feel better, his life takes a turn for the worst.
While cleaning the DiAngelos boathouse, he finds his father’s missing drill and the drill had flakes of red paint on it. Brady recalled that when he had joked about drilling holes in the DiAngelos canoe several months before, Digger had looked very serious. He also remembers that Digger felt a lot of anger at the DiAngelos as he blamed them for buying his grandfather's farm, which was Digger, JT and Brady's old stomping grounds. Brady realizes that his friend may have something to do with the sinking of the kayak.
When confronted J.T. confesses to helping Digger with drilling holes in the kayak. Brady is angry and scared and does not know what to do. Should he keep it a secret or should he tell someone? Also, whom should he tell? He is tormented by the difficult choices before him. If he tells, he would get himself and his friends into a lot of trouble and hurt his friends and family. If he keeps it a secret it would be unfair to the DiAngelos and to Ben. He is unable to decide what to do.
Then, he reaches a decision. It becomes evident to him that doing what is right is not always the easiest thing. Finally, Brady decides to do the right thing and face the consequences. ("I just had to remember why I was doing it. Because it was the right thing to do"). With the help of his father, Brady recovers the red kayak and tells his father everything. They tell the authorities and his friends go to trial. What follows is a very stressful time for Brady as he worries about his friends, but he had made a deal with himself to tell the truth and to face all that follows.
In the end he is relieved that the sentence handed to his friends was not too harsh. The DiAngelos sell their property and move to Virginia and look forward to the birth of their new baby. Life goes on for Brady and his friends and Brady hopes that their friendship would survive this tragedy.