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Grist
Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice, 2007 White Pine Honour Book, 2008 Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee, 2009 No one is who they seem to be in Charlie's world. Not her father, the boy she likes, or even the mysterious man from her mother's funeral. Sixteen-year-old Charlie, an ambitious and dedicated writer who thinks her small-town life doesn't offer any material for her work, is sure of three That her blow-up at her tactless creative writing teacher must have contributed to his heart attack,
That she doesn't want to spend her summer with her father's girlfriend and her triplets,
And that she has to get away. She decides to spend the summer with her grandmother on remote Lake Ringrose in northern Ontario, where she thinks she can laze on a hammock all summer and get in touch with her mother's roots. Instead, she steps into a series of unexpected adventures that will alter her view of what seemed a dull and tedious existence. For one thing, she agrees to compete in the gruelling Four Islands Race. Then she falls for Kerry, a handsome local hunk, and wants to tell him how she feels. As revelation upon revelation builds, she discovers the Kerry is her half-brother and the man she's always taken to be her father isn't after all. And then there's the mystery of the Chocolate Moose Man, an almost mythical figure who turned up at her mother's funeral thirteen years before. It's all rich grist for a keen-eyed young writer's mill, as Charlie learns that the best material comes not from exciting travels and circumstances, but from journeys to new places inside herself.
That she doesn't want to spend her summer with her father's girlfriend and her triplets,
And that she has to get away. She decides to spend the summer with her grandmother on remote Lake Ringrose in northern Ontario, where she thinks she can laze on a hammock all summer and get in touch with her mother's roots. Instead, she steps into a series of unexpected adventures that will alter her view of what seemed a dull and tedious existence. For one thing, she agrees to compete in the gruelling Four Islands Race. Then she falls for Kerry, a handsome local hunk, and wants to tell him how she feels. As revelation upon revelation builds, she discovers the Kerry is her half-brother and the man she's always taken to be her father isn't after all. And then there's the mystery of the Chocolate Moose Man, an almost mythical figure who turned up at her mother's funeral thirteen years before. It's all rich grist for a keen-eyed young writer's mill, as Charlie learns that the best material comes not from exciting travels and circumstances, but from journeys to new places inside herself.
228 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Heather Waldorf
5 books17 followersHeather Waldorf was born in Ottawa and raised in small-town Eastern Ontario. She now lives in Toronto with Moose, a twelve-year-old golden retriever. Heather is addicted to green tea, jigsaw puzzles, mystery novels and the TV show Bones. Also a lover of the great outdoors, she's never written a novel that doesn't, at some point, put the main character in a canoe.
Heather received her fine arts degree from York University and her adult education degree from Brock University. She is a full-time counselor at a North York group home for adults with developmental disabilities. Heather's experience as a social worker and her passion for the outdoors inspired her to write Fighting the Current, her first book for young adults.
Heather received her fine arts degree from York University and her adult education degree from Brock University. She is a full-time counselor at a North York group home for adults with developmental disabilities. Heather's experience as a social worker and her passion for the outdoors inspired her to write Fighting the Current, her first book for young adults.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
June 9, 2022
THE PLOT TWIST OMGHDJDBFIF
November 6, 2010
Grist has a nice Canadian flavor. Charlena is a likeable character and I enjoyed the family mystery element. You know there is something not quite right with the romance that is unfolding but Charlie and Kerry seem oblivious. The descriptions of people are well-fleshed out and seemed realistic--the protagonist has wide hips, crazy hair and an off-beat sense of humor, the best friend is a lanky red-headed nerd, the summer love interest is scarred up from an accident, and the Dad sounds like an ordinary loveable guy that works as an accountant. In most of the book Charlena is staying at her Grandmother’s cabin on a beautiful lake in Canada. It is a great setting and has a nice summery feeling about it despite the rain, the insects, and the lack of computers. I felt as if I was along on the adventure!
March 3, 2008
It was a very cliched YA novel: Teenage girl who is in love with her friend, friend moves away, teenage girl spends summer up north with her grandmother, finds out a family secret, wants to be a writer, and so on. Not my cup of tea. I only read it because it was one of the 10 White Pine 2008 novels.
There was, however, a plot twist that I did not expect (I won't spoil it, don't worry) which is why I gave it two stars. However, the "recovery" of said plot twist was just not believable. I didn't buy it.
There was, however, a plot twist that I did not expect (I won't spoil it, don't worry) which is why I gave it two stars. However, the "recovery" of said plot twist was just not believable. I didn't buy it.
November 5, 2009
This is a great book if you like surprises. This isn't one of your vampire books which sucks in some cases. But i personally loved this book and have been forcing some of my friends to read it. It involves love, juvenile delinquents and lies. This was one of the best books that I read last summer.
October 3, 2010
Weird...enough said
April 4, 2022
This novel is amazing, I was so hooked just to be left with blank pages 😭 but as reading this novel, I literally was banging my head to the book because how alarming it was, and I never done this before. The novel is definitely worth the reading and I wish it had a MOVIE!!! I feel like this novel made me come to some realization of myself and lead me to speak the truth to the people I care about in my life.. I don’t mean to sound dramatic but I hope this novel has a follow up 💖
May 26, 2020
It's really good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2011
I am sorry to say that Grist was one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I borrowed the book from my school library because the front cover appealed to me. The sunset in the background over a calm lake and woods with half the face of a girl made the book seem very mysterious and anything mysterious appeals to me. The fact that the girl in the front cover isn’t smiling; she has on a very serious face and looks almost angry also seemed to spark some interest in me.
“But this guy is trouble, in a way that Charlie – and he – could have never anticipated.” It says in the back of the book. These are the things that spark many teenagers’ interests, and I have to say, I’m no different. It was just something about the way the front cover and the back cover – with the other half of the girl’s face seen – mixed together with the description that seemed to have some sort of pull. “Look at me,” it seemed to yell. “I’m a good book, read me...” I sure and not falling for that sort of thing ever again.
The plot line is boring and flat. It jumped from one topic to another without any sort of connection between the two. It made the book almost confusing to read. The characters are okay, I suppose. For once, the main girl isn’t the clingy, moaning type who can’t live without the “love of her life”. Instead, the main girl, Charlie, is feisty and, although she can be a bit of a couch potato, she has her quirks. She’s rather stubborn and hard-headed, with a lot wit and doesn’t ever seem to back down. Kerry, the boy she meets has a dark side to him, and has a reputation for being a “bad boy”, though he is trying to change that.
Grist had my full attention throughout the first half. I’m not ashamed to say that at first, I could not put the book down. But once I reached around the mid-point, I lost interest. And I don’t mean gradually losing interest – I mean I just suddenly put the book down, never wanting to touch it again. I had found out why Charlie was forbidden to see Kerry and I have to say, the reason was rather awkward and just plain weird to me. I just don’t understand why Heather Waldorf would pick such a reason. Sure, you don’t usually see books like these, but to me, it was just...wrong. It was lacking a lot of important details and badly delivered.
As for if anyone else should read the book, I don’t have much to say. If you think it’ll be something you like, read it. If not, and what I have just said effected you in any way, then don’t read it. All I have to say is that this book is not for anyone who takes their books seriously. It’s more for those teenage girls who think some authors understand how they feel about love “perfectly.”
“But this guy is trouble, in a way that Charlie – and he – could have never anticipated.” It says in the back of the book. These are the things that spark many teenagers’ interests, and I have to say, I’m no different. It was just something about the way the front cover and the back cover – with the other half of the girl’s face seen – mixed together with the description that seemed to have some sort of pull. “Look at me,” it seemed to yell. “I’m a good book, read me...” I sure and not falling for that sort of thing ever again.
The plot line is boring and flat. It jumped from one topic to another without any sort of connection between the two. It made the book almost confusing to read. The characters are okay, I suppose. For once, the main girl isn’t the clingy, moaning type who can’t live without the “love of her life”. Instead, the main girl, Charlie, is feisty and, although she can be a bit of a couch potato, she has her quirks. She’s rather stubborn and hard-headed, with a lot wit and doesn’t ever seem to back down. Kerry, the boy she meets has a dark side to him, and has a reputation for being a “bad boy”, though he is trying to change that.
Grist had my full attention throughout the first half. I’m not ashamed to say that at first, I could not put the book down. But once I reached around the mid-point, I lost interest. And I don’t mean gradually losing interest – I mean I just suddenly put the book down, never wanting to touch it again. I had found out why Charlie was forbidden to see Kerry and I have to say, the reason was rather awkward and just plain weird to me. I just don’t understand why Heather Waldorf would pick such a reason. Sure, you don’t usually see books like these, but to me, it was just...wrong. It was lacking a lot of important details and badly delivered.
As for if anyone else should read the book, I don’t have much to say. If you think it’ll be something you like, read it. If not, and what I have just said effected you in any way, then don’t read it. All I have to say is that this book is not for anyone who takes their books seriously. It’s more for those teenage girls who think some authors understand how they feel about love “perfectly.”
May 8, 2012
The first thing I want to talk about is what the book is talking about. Sixteen year old Charlie lives with her dad, Mike, and a few memories of her mother who died of cancer when Charlie was a little girl. Charlie has always wanted to be a writer, in that summer when she failed in English and her father dated with a woman that she don’t know, she decided to go to her grandmother where is away from her small town, in the forest. Charlie went to Lake Ringrose where her mother grew up, and found her life changed forever. In there, she meets Kerry, who has troubles of his own. Despite her best efforts, she succumbs to his charm, when things are getting more and more complicated.
I pretty enjoy reading this book, although the beginning is quite boring for me. After Charlie went to her grandmother’s home, the story had just started. The first six chapters is to give us an introduction about Charlie’s life, which is a bit long for readers. As soon as the journey started, it became interesting which make me want to read more about the book. It started by describing the life that her mother and her grandmother have in the forest, which I didn’t know too much about since I have never lived in forest. Follow by, it’s teenager’s love between Charlie and Kerry which seems like to make a romantic story.
We can see the whole book is written by first person view who is Charlie. The benefit is we can understand what Charlie is thinking about and feel her feeling, but we can’t understand others’ feeling and thought accurately. In the book, I like Kerry a lot. He has some tough breaks, but he’s still trying his best and despite hellacious parenting, he knows where he wants to be in the world. This is where I am lack off. Mike, Charlie’s father, he is a good father who loves Charlie and her mother a lot. He was so upset for his wife’s death for years, and I really feel that Charlie should be happy that her father start dating because he may be trying to make a new family for Charlie and he starting to go out of his wife’s shadow. Charlie’s grandmother, who is a tough woman that seems like she can face everything by herself. She lost her daughter which sound really sad, but she still lived well in the forest by only herself.
In the end, I think the book is really good for teenager. It contains some problems we have in our lives and the story will surprise you.
I pretty enjoy reading this book, although the beginning is quite boring for me. After Charlie went to her grandmother’s home, the story had just started. The first six chapters is to give us an introduction about Charlie’s life, which is a bit long for readers. As soon as the journey started, it became interesting which make me want to read more about the book. It started by describing the life that her mother and her grandmother have in the forest, which I didn’t know too much about since I have never lived in forest. Follow by, it’s teenager’s love between Charlie and Kerry which seems like to make a romantic story.
We can see the whole book is written by first person view who is Charlie. The benefit is we can understand what Charlie is thinking about and feel her feeling, but we can’t understand others’ feeling and thought accurately. In the book, I like Kerry a lot. He has some tough breaks, but he’s still trying his best and despite hellacious parenting, he knows where he wants to be in the world. This is where I am lack off. Mike, Charlie’s father, he is a good father who loves Charlie and her mother a lot. He was so upset for his wife’s death for years, and I really feel that Charlie should be happy that her father start dating because he may be trying to make a new family for Charlie and he starting to go out of his wife’s shadow. Charlie’s grandmother, who is a tough woman that seems like she can face everything by herself. She lost her daughter which sound really sad, but she still lived well in the forest by only herself.
In the end, I think the book is really good for teenager. It contains some problems we have in our lives and the story will surprise you.
March 30, 2013
Reactions: At the beginning, all I knew of this book was that a girl went to stay with her grandma for one summer. Her best friend, whom she has a crush on has moved to Australia and she had no heart to put into her final writing assignment (She wants to be a writer!). She no longer cares about Grist gathering, and yet her teacher urges her.
So Charlie goes to visit her grandma because she can no longer handle life in her small town. There she meets some an unlikely friend who offers her his love and she in turn tries to accept it. The only problem is he is more trouble then either of them bargained for.
Charlie must learn to accept the world as it is and to work around the hard times if there is any hope that she and Kerry will see each other again and keep the bond they made over the summer.
It was such and intense read! If only I had left it to the last!
So Charlie goes to visit her grandma because she can no longer handle life in her small town. There she meets some an unlikely friend who offers her his love and she in turn tries to accept it. The only problem is he is more trouble then either of them bargained for.
Charlie must learn to accept the world as it is and to work around the hard times if there is any hope that she and Kerry will see each other again and keep the bond they made over the summer.
It was such and intense read! If only I had left it to the last!
June 27, 2016
During the first few chapters, I wasn't so sure about this book; but the longer I read, the deeper into the story I was drawn. The characters were enjoyable(especially Kerry. I loved him.), the dialogue was delicious, and the plot was very interesting. There were so many secrets to be revealed and even with the main spoiler being ruined for me(at least partially), there were still so many surprises and revelations to discover! And the ending, I adored. It was like a fresh page in a journal--a tangible representation of hope and a bright future.
April 8, 2010
Teen reading challenge. I figured out the shocking surprise hundreds of pages before the characters involved did. (Spoiler!) And I think it might be a good thing to have a book about genetic sexual attraction, though that's not the word used here. That aspect was handled well, but the rest of the story wasn't as strong. And do all Heather Waldorf's books include life-changing summers in the Canadian wilderness and coming to terms with missing moms?
April 7, 2015
This book was really refreshing because it was set in Manitoba which is where I live. I didn't know much about it before I started reading so I was pleasantly surprised when I finished. I really enjoyed the twist at the ending and even though there were some clichés embedded in it, it wasn't an expected ending.
January 10, 2015
This book was a great romance book until the plot takes a turn towards the end. I was not expecting the plot twist and had to read that section again. I loved the book and if you like romance you will like this.
June 13, 2013
Charlie, our quirky protagonist, compels readers to have a keen eye for grist--valuable experience and knowledge--in life. By struggling and learning to grow through weakness, 'Grist' is an inspiring story of self-fufillment and understanding.
April 22, 2014
Pretty entertaining book! I totally did not expect the twist at the end. As much as I enjoyed how unexpected it was, I also hated it! I'm a big supporter of romances/HEA's and that is soooo not what happens in this book. All we end up with is a whole pile of sad awkwardness :(
September 5, 2008
Pretty interesting book, but has a lot of swear words. There's also a little bit of disturbing/inappropriate content. Good read, but don't take the book too seriously!
September 20, 2008
This book was pretty much captivating from the beginning-- but about 4-5 the way through the book-- it um... startled me by the plot and then the story line kind of began to flatten out.
January 26, 2009
Very good.
April 17, 2009
Um wow so if you someone who likes the unexpected than you will so like this book, I did not see the unexpected twist in it. This book was fantastic.
April 21, 2009
Awesome book! It's a great teen story about struggle with social life and teachers. Awesome plot, excellent.
August 6, 2016
I've decided that I need to start writing down the page of my predictions so I can see how well I can perceive foreshadowing. good despite figuring out the twist early on. kind of funny.
March 14, 2012
REALLY ENJOYED IT. Insane twist but it kept me reading...
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September 20, 2022
This was an interesting read. I enjoyed as a teen.
June 10, 2013
bitter sweet ending
March 27, 2014
it was a romantic love story that changed to incest. but above all that it was a great story and how much you don't know about your family
April 15, 2015
I love the book so much. I loved the characters and the ending and most of all the forbidden love it's a must read.
March 17, 2020
Pointed out too many times that they're in Canada. I frequently shouted I GET IT ALREADY! at this book.
December 16, 2008
I really haven't read enough of this book to know yet.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews