Shatterproof

by Jocelyn Shipley

Thirteen-year-old Nate needs a break from looking after his newly disabled mom. One day when his mom thinks he's at a cross-country meet, he goes to the mall with a friend he's forbidden to have contact with. At the skate shop he sees a new board he can't afford but has to have, and Nate gets talked into running a scam. It turns out Nate looks a lot like a teen TV star filming in the area. So he and his buddy get girls to pay cash to be extras on set. It's all fine until Nate meets a girl he really likes. Nate knows he has to tell her the truth, but he's not sure he has what it takes to come clean.

Genres: Young Adult

128 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2016

About the author

Born and raised in London, Ontario, Jocelyn graduated from York University and has studied writing at St. Lawrence College and the Humber School for Writers. She always wanted to be a writer, and won her first award at age nine, for poems entered in the local Hobby Fair.


Jocelyn now lives in Toronto and on Vancouver Island. Her YA novel,How to Tend a Grave, won the 2012 Gold Medal Moonbeam Award for YA Fiction - Mature Issues.

Reviews

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Orca Currents book, but I'm a big fan of Jocelyn Shipley (seriously, read How to Tend a Grave if you haven't already) so I was happy to cut my teeth on this one.

Nate sneaks away from home to go have a fun day with his friend, the not so angelic Lug, at the mall, but things go sideways when Lug decides to pull a scam with Nate at the center of it. Though Nate's conscience tugs at him, he's dazzled by the potential to cash in so he can get himself a new skateboard. Except, things spiral out of control and Nate gets sucked deeper and deeper into the scam until he can't see a way out that isn't going to hurt people.

Shatterproof does have a satisfying ending, but I do hope there's more to the story--I loved Nate and want to read more about him and Spring, the girl he meets at the mall.

[Jennifer Mook-Sang · Rating 5 out of 5]

i enjoyed this book immensely for the thrills and the feels.

[Nicole Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific read! Great tension, terrific pacing, realistic characters. I'm positive that any young reluctant teen reader who sees reading as dull, boring and a "do I have to?" will enjoy this stor
Congrats, Jocelyn!

[Bookish Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

NBD/Biblion read.

Nice little book, very suitable for its audience.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently Nate looks a lot like a celebrity and he and his friend decide to capitalize on this while at the mall one day. They quickly set up a scam to make some money by promising to get girls onto the set of the celebrity's show as extras. Nate is reluctant, but wants the money for a new skateboard, so he goes along with it. However, while they are at the mall scamming girls, Nate meets a girl who is different and he really likes her. He starts to think twice about his decisions, but his friend is blackmailing him to stay and make more money.