Feather

by I.C. Rapoport, Jack Couffer

FEATHERby I.C. Rapoport & Jack CoufferWhen rebellious 15-year-old Pete Apeldoorn teases the bus driver on a ride from Amsterdam to the sea-side village of Oostland, pretty Sonja van Tiel is intrigued by his cleverness and wit. But when Pete steps down from the bus and Sonja sees his clubfoot, the promise of a summer of companionship and romance is shattered.Pete’s dejection is broken when he rescues an injured storkling. The bird’s crooked wing and Pete’s lame leg foster a bond between the boy and the baby stork. With a few chance encounters in a village too small to keep them apart, Sonja's curiosity and compassion draws her again to Peter and the stork he's named Feather.As summer wanes and the stork flocks gather for their long migration to Africa, Pete fears that Feather won't be able to keep up and he keeps her caged. Sonja, independent and resolved, encourages Pete to let the stork to fly off on migration with her own kind, even with the bent wing. Pete is at first dead-set against sending a “cripple” on such a torturous journey but he relents and after Feather flies off, he believes she’s doomed.How Feather fares on the long journey to South Africa by way of Saudi Arabia and her misadventures is played chapter for chapter against Pete’s return to Amsterdam and his attempts to woo Sonja. He makes a complete fool of himself while smitten and in love. Sonja has enough of his foolishness until Pete lands in hospital for months undergoing a surgical attempt to lengthen his leg.The ending is as uplifting as Feather’s return in the spring from Africa. Feather’s instinctive courage changes Pete’s life, and Sonja’s – forever. Friendship and romance, loyalty and love, adventure and odyssey, make this a teen-age story to capture your heart.

177 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 12, 2010