Stepping Up

A fast-paced, powerfully told novel for middle-grade readers about limb loss, resilience and becoming excited about the future again. What if you took a shortcut below some rocks and your entire life came sliding down?High on the shingle slopes of Pangonui, 14-year-old Ben cuts below a pile of huge, half-buried boulders. All of a sudden there's a terrible sound, and a massive rock is tumbling towards him. In the painful weeks that follow a surgery to remove Ben's shattered lower leg, his mind returns to the mountain, his impatience, that split-second decision. Will anything ever be normal again?One goal keeps him going: he will finish the climb he started. Hill knows how to draw young readers in and keep them on the edge of their seats . . . LINDA THOMPSON