China Rock
"Stark, vividly written and utterly compelling."
-Portland Book Review-
Pop is a tough father to Augie and the rest of the seven Mohans. The Depression landed him in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington and now he must take a gamble to feed his children. Against his better judgment, he signs on to the Carolina, an aging fishing trawler. It's an open secret that the captain of the Carolina is up to no good.
When the Carolina disappears close to the Canadian islands to the north, teenagers Augie and his sister Sarah must quit school and get jobs. Townspeople extend an open hand, but gradually Augie senses the fog of secrecy that settles over his father's fate. In a shocking turn of events, the bodies of two Chinese immigrants wash up on a windward beach. Dark rumors connect the couple to the missing Carolina, but it requires Augie's strength and courage to unravel the mystery.
China Rock provides a look at the hardscrabble lives of young and old during the difficult 1930's. Through the lens of a youngster who yearns to understand the making of his family, the story shows us the making of a man.