cover image Impact Zone

Impact Zone

Ray Maloney. Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, $14.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-385-29447-8

For this story, Maloney received Delacorte's Best First Young Adult Novel Prize. He deserves it. Jim, the hero of the novel, is natural and appealing. He's also very believable as he grapples with his emerging sexuality, clarifies his artistic vision, and tries to understand his parents. He runs away from his mother and wimpy stepfather to Hawaii, where his real father is a successful surfing photographer. The vehicle for Jim's journey to adulthood is surfing, and his moment of truth is his entry into the heart of a treacherous wave, called the Pipeline, the ""impact zone'' of the title. This book is well-paced, well-written and stuffed with authentic surfing lore. Both Maloney and his book are winners. (12-up)