Where the Water Takes Us
Alan Barillaro, illustrated by the author
Walker Books

When eleven year old Ava learns she’s to spend the summer at her grandparents’ remote island cabin with her Nonno and Nonna, because her mother’s twin pregnancy has become complicated, she can’t let go of the fact that she’s been labelled a ‘burden’. In addition she feels terrified that something awful could happen to her mother.

Soon after her arrival when out paddling the canoe, Ava notices a boy standing with a fishing rod on the dock. He endeavours to make conversation but she turns down his offer of showing her pike and continues paddling before ending up in the water. Ava is so tired that once she’s pulled herself out she falls asleep. She’s awoken by a powerful storm and a woodpecker falling at her feet, which she is unable to revive. This leads to second encounter with the boy, Cody MacDonald, who is with his father and he insists on seeing that she gets safely back to her grandparents’ island.

That evening when Ava and Nonna are talking about birds, Nonna says that a dead bird falling at your feet or on your doorstep can be a sign that a death will come to the family. Ava then hears her mother is back in hospital and decides that nothing else matters except that her mother must be saved. She returns to Deer Island to make a deal with the dead woodpecker. Back at the cabin, Ava is told that rather than trying to call her Mum she should write her a letter and as a further distraction, she should walk to the spring with Nonno to collect some jugs of water.

At the spring there’s another chance meeting with Cody and despite Ava denying she’s friends with him Nonno leaves her with the boy to fill their jugs. While there Ava discovers two eggs – robin’s eggs so Cody says. During the ensuing conversation despite herself, Ava finds she’s getting closer to the boy, and she then takes the two eggs back to her grandparents home for protection. Caring for two baby robins with her Nonna’s help might just be what she needs.

Then a situation unfolds which puts Cody’s life in danger and Ava must summon both her swimming skills and courage to save the day.

With themes of protection, friendship and identity, this is a truly compelling, sensitively written story full of lyrical descriptions about the natural world. The author’s occasional delicate watercolour illustrations have a quiet power of their own: be sure to follow the development of the two eggs along the bottom and up the edge of the recto pages.