In 1991, on a small, isolated island off the coast of Newfoundland, twelve-year-old Pierce Jacobs struggles to come to terms with the death of his father, It's been three years since his dad, a fisherman, disappeared in the cold unforgiving Atlantic, his body never recovered. Pierce is determined to save enough money to fix his father's old boat and take it out to sea. But life on the island is quiet and hard. The local fishing industry is on the brink of collapse. And the community is hit even harder when a young teen named Anna Tessier goes missing.
With the help of his three friends, Pierce sets out to find Anna, with whom he shared an unusual but special bond, They soon cross Paths with Soloman Vickers, a mysterious, hermetic fisherman who may have something to do with the missing girl. Their search brings them into contact with unrelenting bullies, magnificent sea creatures, fierce storms, and glacial giants. But most of all, it brings them closer to the brutal reality of both the natural and the modern world.
A coming-of-age story, literary mystery, and thriller, Closer by Sea is a page-turning and poignant novel about family, friendship, and community set at a pivotal time in modern Newfoundland history. It is an homage to a people and a place, and above all it captures that delicate and tender moment when the wonder of childhood innocence gives way to the harsh awakening of adult experience.
