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Sneaker Wave
Four mismatched teens. One act of violence. One nod by each of them to agree it never happened. This raucous yet poignant story of friendship, loss and long-denied regret springs to life in the dying days of high school in a seaside Pacific Northwest town. A popular resident is critically injured while confronting seventeen-year-old Brady Joseph and three friends who have broken into an abandoned house to party. Luke, a seething runaway, is suspected of attacking the man, while Sam, a gentle, imperiling opportunist, and Sarah, Brady's wildly irrepressible girlfriend, are accused of helping Brady cover up the crime. The teens? code of silence keeps them out of jail, yet for Brady their duplicity is not so easily accepted, especially as their lives and those of others begin unraveling in a dizzying plunge, leaving him with two choices, each one tragic. This is a story about teens doggedly pursued into adulthood by suspicion that lingers long after the media moves on to the next crime du jour. It's a haunting journey into the gaps between right and wrong, between harmless half-truths and disastrous self-deception.
- GenresComing Of Age
436 pages, Paperback
First published October 30, 2013
1 person is currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Beamish
4 books5 followersJeff Beamish is a fiction writer, former journalist and author of the new award-winning novel, No, You're Crazy. His first novel, Sneaker Wave, was shortlisted in 2014 for a national fiction award in Canada. His second novel, No, You’re Crazy, is the 2023 New York City Big Book Award winner for visionary fiction, the 2023 Hollywood Book Festival Award runner-up for general fiction and the 2023 Beach Book Festival Award runner-up for general fiction. He has had short fiction published in four literary journals, The Nonconformist Magazine, Consequence Forum, Litbreak Magazine and Free Radicals Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 1, 2013
I've been waiting for this book to come out for awhile, and it didn't let me down! The story always kept me anticipating what was going to happen next. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen there was a new twist that shattered the character's world. I fell in love with many characters in the book especially Brady. I felt like I was in the book experiencing life with him!
It was truly a great read, great work Jeff!!
It was truly a great read, great work Jeff!!
January 14, 2014
Very good book review now in the Vancouver Sun Newspaper: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertain...
So glad I found this book!! It was a excellent read and I really loved it. Jeff Beamish did a great job of keeping me engaged throughout the entire book. I felt like I was there in the book going through the journey that Brady (the main character) was going through. I felt his happiness and love, as well as pain and regret. The book had me going from smiling to laughing to being in tears.
I recommend this book for anyone looking to support a new author and who wants a really great read. You will not be disappointed!!
So glad I found this book!! It was a excellent read and I really loved it. Jeff Beamish did a great job of keeping me engaged throughout the entire book. I felt like I was there in the book going through the journey that Brady (the main character) was going through. I felt his happiness and love, as well as pain and regret. The book had me going from smiling to laughing to being in tears.
I recommend this book for anyone looking to support a new author and who wants a really great read. You will not be disappointed!!
December 22, 2013
Sneaker Wave is a read full of suspense with a totally unpredictable plot line. Just when you think you know where the story is going, surprise... . Perhaps the ending offers up the biggest surprise of all. It is here that Beamish shows that we can be incredibly forgiving, as well as do the right thing, but for the most part this novel takes us on a suspense filled trek that keeps us wanting more. I am looking forward to this promising authors next work.
March 9, 2014
I won this book from a contest on Goodreads.
When Brady Joseph was just a young child, he witnessed his father's suicide. Now he is 17 years old and still lives in the same dilapidated house with his Mother, who he believes lives only to embarrass her only son. He lives in Deception Path and is friends with 'bad boy' Luke Newell and 'just as crazy' Sam Simpson and his girlfriend Sarah Roberts whose father would like nothing more than have his daughter date someone else within his class and not a low life like Brady. As the four were nearing their high school graduation, Sarah suggests throwing a party at her neighbor's abandoned house. Around 12:30 am with the party in full swing, a neighbor Tom Opal, came to get Sarah and take her to her house in the garage away from the noise, and speak with her. Opal didn't know that Luke, Brady and Sam had followed them in the garage and just as quickly Tom was rushed to the hospital with a blow to the head and was in a coma. He later died due to his injuries. Since the police knew of these boys, they arrested Luke with assault and the other three were charged with criminal conspiracy. With little evidence and none of the teens talking, all four were granted bail and they walked. But the people in town continued to harass the four and Sarah, although she had already been accepted into University was suddenly rejected due to budget cuts, etc. But they all knew it was because they were branded 'murderers'. Brady moved on with his life, became a firefighter and married and had twin girls, but the guilt of his and his friends' past was never far from his mind. Brady's one huge obstacle in his life was to try and get past it and forget. But how?
Author, Jeff Beamish, did an expert job of putting Brady Joseph's feelings on paper for the reader to feel his pain. An incredible feat and a terrific read!
When Brady Joseph was just a young child, he witnessed his father's suicide. Now he is 17 years old and still lives in the same dilapidated house with his Mother, who he believes lives only to embarrass her only son. He lives in Deception Path and is friends with 'bad boy' Luke Newell and 'just as crazy' Sam Simpson and his girlfriend Sarah Roberts whose father would like nothing more than have his daughter date someone else within his class and not a low life like Brady. As the four were nearing their high school graduation, Sarah suggests throwing a party at her neighbor's abandoned house. Around 12:30 am with the party in full swing, a neighbor Tom Opal, came to get Sarah and take her to her house in the garage away from the noise, and speak with her. Opal didn't know that Luke, Brady and Sam had followed them in the garage and just as quickly Tom was rushed to the hospital with a blow to the head and was in a coma. He later died due to his injuries. Since the police knew of these boys, they arrested Luke with assault and the other three were charged with criminal conspiracy. With little evidence and none of the teens talking, all four were granted bail and they walked. But the people in town continued to harass the four and Sarah, although she had already been accepted into University was suddenly rejected due to budget cuts, etc. But they all knew it was because they were branded 'murderers'. Brady moved on with his life, became a firefighter and married and had twin girls, but the guilt of his and his friends' past was never far from his mind. Brady's one huge obstacle in his life was to try and get past it and forget. But how?
Author, Jeff Beamish, did an expert job of putting Brady Joseph's feelings on paper for the reader to feel his pain. An incredible feat and a terrific read!
January 10, 2014
In Sneaker Wave, Jeff Beamish does a fabulous job of captivating the readers. I honestly could not put down the book, so I ended up almost finishing it the day I started! The book follows the lives of four teenagers, whom have many different obstacles thrown at them. Anyone who reads this will fall in love with Brady, the main character. He is relatable as he goes through struggles that many people face. For example, doing the right thing even though it is hard. Many times throughout this book I cried and felt my heart ripped out of my chest. However, there were also moments of love and happiness where I couldn’t stop smiling. I can’t recommend this book enough. Sneaker Wave shows how tragedy can shape someone’s life, and how mistakes can haunt you for the rest of your life.
February 26, 2014
Not sure which is more accurate: Sneaker Wave is a beautiful, character-driven literary novel that explores the difficult choices we sometimes face and the consequences for making the wrong one. Or. Sneaker Wave is a taut, plot-driven mainstream novel that knocks you off-balance in the first chapter and keeps you hanging on for dear life until the ride is over. Either way, this story of regret and redemption is as bewitching and thought-provoking as it is unpredictable and electrifying.
March 24, 2014
an amazing story. awesome characters. ....
February 13, 2018
I've waited a long time to read this as it is always ridiculously expensive. This book kept on twisting and turning and took me to unexpected places. A really good book but a little slow for my liking but good.
September 4, 2014
4.5 stars for this fantastic read. How one act can alter so many lives for so many years in such tragic ways. Stunning to read. A fantastic first novel Mr. Beamish. Looking forward to many more! Thank you ever so much to Oolichan Books for sending this - it sat on my shelf, for what I feel was too long now before I finally picked it up.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews