On the Waterfront by Mike McCoy

A classic coming-of-age story, On the Waterfront by Mike McCoy recounts a pivotal summer in the life of a boy struggling to discover who he is in the world.

It’s 1972 and 13-year-old Danny Novak is hired by the Oregon Trail Council of the Boy Scouts of America to spend the summer working at Camp Baker. The youngest staff member, Danny, quickly realizes that the troubled home life he’s escaping may have been easier than trying to fit in and be accepted by his older teenage workmates, as he must contend with the brooding, intimidating Mark, a 16-year-old senior staff member with a shady past.

Danny is an endearing, often funny voice, as we watch Mark train Danny so he can swim a mile to secure a coveted position on the waterfront. Danny’s struggles with the challenges – both emotional and physical – are evocatively drawn, which will be recognizable to most any reader, no matter what they may have faced in their own adolescence. This may be a story about the small moments that shape a life, but McCoy imbues his story with relatable emotion and pathos, as to Danny these moments are world-changing.

The title may be a strange choice, given it has a famous predecessor, but Danny is a wholly captivating lead character, and readers will quickly embrace his story as he navigates the rites of passage that yield profound revelations about friendship, power, fear, and what it means to grow up.

Book Links