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The Pebble Champion
Haunted by the death of his mother and the loss of a childhood friendship, 15-year-old Chris moves to the Isle of Wight to begin a new life with his estranged father. There, alone on the beach, he deals with his grief and guilt by entering an imagined world where he competes to become The Pebble Champion, skimming stones farther than anyone else across the surface of the sea. With each pebble thrown, and with each new encounter, Chris gradually learns how to let go of the burdens of the past, how to hold on to what really matters, and how to embrace his own bewildering desires. In this life-affirming novel, A.D. Pritchard captures the social, emotional and sexual insecurities of a gay teenager with a fresh voice that avoids sensationalism and stereotypes.
188 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 10, 2019
‘Live each day as if it is your first’ – A radiantly impressive novel!
British author A.D. Pritchard is a poet and playwright as well as novelist and author of educational materials. His works, both in poetry/plays and this novel, have been lauded by multiple awards. Originally published in 2013, THE PEBBLE CHAMPION won attention as an important LGBTQ novel and now that it is available in the Kindle format, it doubtless will become further recognized as an important contribution to literature, in both the gay sector and the general population.
Alan opens his book with a Prologue that relates the car accident death of the main character Christopher’s mother when Chris was 15 years old. Then in a most poetic manner, the story begins with thoughts from Chris – ‘The little red lights of the alarm clock pulsate and for a while I almost hear the ambulance sirens again. At three o’clock, I turn on the bedside lamp and squint at my reflection in the window. It’s raining hard outside. I used to know the person staring back. Then I do hear the ambulance sirens, and I remember that this is my last night in the city. My last night here…My life is compressed into two bags, and they rest against each other as if for comfort. No, they don’t. I must get a grip. They lean against each other because I left them there that way…’
The story relates the experience of Chris’s sexual identity awakening in a manner that few authors have been able to achieve – the story is well outlined in Alan’s synopsis – ‘Haunted by the death of his mother and the loss of a childhood friendship, 15-year-old Chris moves to the Isle of Wight to begin a new life with his estranged father. There, alone on the beach, he deals with his grief and guilt by entering an imagined world where he competes to become The Pebble Champion, skimming stones farther than anyone else across the surface of the sea. With each pebble thrown, and with each new encounter, Chris gradually learns how to let go of the burdens of the past, how to hold on to what really matters, and how to embrace his own bewildering desires.’
Gentle, sensitive, intelligent and extraordinarily well written, THE PEBBLE CHAMPION at last offers a role model for young gay youths to emulate. This author is one of the finest sculptors of the human spirit writing today. Very highly recommended.
British author A.D. Pritchard is a poet and playwright as well as novelist and author of educational materials. His works, both in poetry/plays and this novel, have been lauded by multiple awards. Originally published in 2013, THE PEBBLE CHAMPION won attention as an important LGBTQ novel and now that it is available in the Kindle format, it doubtless will become further recognized as an important contribution to literature, in both the gay sector and the general population.
Alan opens his book with a Prologue that relates the car accident death of the main character Christopher’s mother when Chris was 15 years old. Then in a most poetic manner, the story begins with thoughts from Chris – ‘The little red lights of the alarm clock pulsate and for a while I almost hear the ambulance sirens again. At three o’clock, I turn on the bedside lamp and squint at my reflection in the window. It’s raining hard outside. I used to know the person staring back. Then I do hear the ambulance sirens, and I remember that this is my last night in the city. My last night here…My life is compressed into two bags, and they rest against each other as if for comfort. No, they don’t. I must get a grip. They lean against each other because I left them there that way…’
The story relates the experience of Chris’s sexual identity awakening in a manner that few authors have been able to achieve – the story is well outlined in Alan’s synopsis – ‘Haunted by the death of his mother and the loss of a childhood friendship, 15-year-old Chris moves to the Isle of Wight to begin a new life with his estranged father. There, alone on the beach, he deals with his grief and guilt by entering an imagined world where he competes to become The Pebble Champion, skimming stones farther than anyone else across the surface of the sea. With each pebble thrown, and with each new encounter, Chris gradually learns how to let go of the burdens of the past, how to hold on to what really matters, and how to embrace his own bewildering desires.’
Gentle, sensitive, intelligent and extraordinarily well written, THE PEBBLE CHAMPION at last offers a role model for young gay youths to emulate. This author is one of the finest sculptors of the human spirit writing today. Very highly recommended.
November 26, 2019
Emotional
When trying to think of a title for my review-emotional kept coming to mind. Why? Because this book is so beautifully written one can’t help but feel emotional. From the beginning to the end, I had tears of sadness, laughter and hope. Sadness for Chris’ loss and feelings of not being accepted. Laughter for Chris’ imagery in his pebble “championship”. Hope for Chris’s healing and acceptance of his self.
I honestly can’t tell you the last time I read a book that brought so many feelings forward. Having lost a parent, I felt Chris’ journey of grief through the writing And the message of not living as if it’s your last day but your first eases the pain from loss. Because all too often we are taught to live like it’s our last day and appreciate that we had it. Instead, we do need to live as if it’s our first and cherish the gifts to come.
Highly recommend this book to all ages.
When trying to think of a title for my review-emotional kept coming to mind. Why? Because this book is so beautifully written one can’t help but feel emotional. From the beginning to the end, I had tears of sadness, laughter and hope. Sadness for Chris’ loss and feelings of not being accepted. Laughter for Chris’ imagery in his pebble “championship”. Hope for Chris’s healing and acceptance of his self.
I honestly can’t tell you the last time I read a book that brought so many feelings forward. Having lost a parent, I felt Chris’ journey of grief through the writing And the message of not living as if it’s your last day but your first eases the pain from loss. Because all too often we are taught to live like it’s our last day and appreciate that we had it. Instead, we do need to live as if it’s our first and cherish the gifts to come.
Highly recommend this book to all ages.
August 2, 2024
We are proud to announce that THE PEBBLE CHAMPION by A.D. Pritchard has been honored with the B.R.A.G. Medallion (Book Readers Appreciation Group). It now joins the very select award-winning, reader-recommended books at indieBRAG.
October 19, 2024
A good insight of a teenager coming out.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews