Reading Update: The Living by Matt de la Pena

Reading update frenzy carries on...

   

Again we have a male protagonist with whom I see many of my Wyoming/Montana boys connecting with despite the fact that our protagonist, Shy, is Mexican-American and from urban California.
     Shy has taken a summer job working on a cruise liner. He hands out spotless white pool towels, caters to the wealthy guests' wants and needs, and rakes in the dough. The pleasure cruise becomes the cruise from hell when the ship is notified that record-breaking earthquakes have rocked California and devastated major cities along the fault line. At first, passengers and staff with loved ones in California desperately want more news but the ship loses all contact. Quickly, their focus becomes their own survival as they begin to realize what the repercussions of the earthquake will be for them... tsunamis - of a magnitude never recorded before. The ship braces for the upcoming storm, yet the survivors of the tsunami soon realize that their battle has just begun...

Practical Considerations: There is some foul language in the book, but if this is not concerning or can be bypassed, then by all means I would get this book in the hands of my students in 8th grade or above.