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On the Rocks
Fourteen-year-old Dylan is sent to live with his estranged grandfather, Angus. Basically strangers, the two avoid each other as best they can. One day Dylan discovers a young orca stranded high up on the rocky beach. Dylan runs to tell his grandfather. There's nothing that can be done, says Angus. The sun is coming up, and soon the orca will die of exposure. But Dylan knows he has to try to save the whale. He collects towels to cover the delicate skin of the orca and begins transporting buckets of water from the ocean below to keep it hydrated. It's grueling work, and it will be hours before the tide comes back in and the water is high enough for the orca to swim free. Angus is moved by his grandson's determination and helps as best he can. They both desperately hope that soon the orca will be able to join its family, who have been calling out to it just offshore. On the Rocks is an inspiring story about the ups and downs of family.
128 pages, Paperback
Published January 28, 2020
About the author
Eric Walters
167 books922 followersEric was born in Toronto in 1957, which makes him "real old". But, as Eric says, "Just because I have to grow old doesn't mean that I have to grow up!" In his many roles as parent, teacher, social worker, youth sports coach and writer he is in constant contact with children and young adults. He draws from these experiences and feels that this helps him to capture the realistic interaction between young people—the conflicts, tensions, stresses and interests that make up their lives.
Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.
Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).
"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.
Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.
Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.
The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).
Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.
Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).
"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.
Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.
Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.
The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 25, 2021
When I read the back-cover summary, I braced myself for a corny story. Who hasn't read this tired storyline before? Bored or troubled grandchild forced to spend a summer with an uncool grandparent, who turns out to be okay.
Oh, and we're told this kid discovers a beached whale and saves it.
Well, in the hands of any other writer, it probably would have felt forced or dull or full of holes. But I couldn't put this book down. Its pace and tension is strong beginning to end, with authentic-feeling characters who change gently and naturally over the course of the story.
Also, the main character is likeable because far from being a bored, troubled 14-year-old, he's someone whose mother -- estranged from this grandfather -- is in rehab.
At first, of course, Dylan and his grandfather have no clue what to do with one another. So his grandfather paints canvases while Dylan turns into a handyman, organizing and fixing up the cabin when he's not off exploring the island. There's a nice dollop of humor in Dylan deciding the two are in a contest as to who can speak the fewest words to the other each day.
Then he dusts off some old kayaks and teaches himself to paddle. I love the scene where he first meets the pod of killer whales:
My brain raced, trying to make sense through the fear. No sharks. Sharks didn't travel together. And then I remembered that a shark's dorsal fin has a straight edge... It was a bunch, um, no a herd, no that was wrong. A school... Just then a gigantic fin rose very close to my kayak. Below it I saw a black back and a flash of white and then a head. It wasn't a dolphin -- it was a killer whale, and it was looking right at me! It slid back under the water, and a second one breached right beside it.
Then there's the whale who ends up beached after a storm and tide change, its pod calling to it worriedly from the ocean nearby. It's a scene that brings boy and grandfather together as they work to save it, and leads to a new mutual respect between them.
"We'd just be wasting our time," the grandfather says.
"Do you have someplace you're supposed to be?"
"Of course not."
"So why not try? And even if we can't save him, we still wouldn't have wasted our time. We'd know we had done everything we could. We have to try... Doesn't everybody deserve a second chance?"
It's a metaphor for their torn family, of course, which only Dylan seems to be taking the initiative to mend. It's also a nail-biting scene that doesn't once turn corny. And when the mother joins them after rehab? (Halt right here if you're allergic to spoilers.)
My mom looked a bit confused. "Well, I guess we should get up to the cabin," she said.
"Maybe before we do that, you could start by giving each other a hello hug." I was determined to make these two important people in my life work things out.
They both looked uneasy.
"It's easy. Real easy," I said. "Both of you, come here."
I reached out and threw one arm around my mother and the other around my grandfather. I pulled them both in and felt them extend their arms around me and around each other.
"Grandpa, you were wrong about us being a good team."
"I was?" he asked.
"Yeah, we're not a team. We're a family."
Like all the Orca Currents books, this is a short, easy read sure to draw in any reader, including reluctant or struggling readers. What could be more valuable than that?
Oh, and we're told this kid discovers a beached whale and saves it.
Well, in the hands of any other writer, it probably would have felt forced or dull or full of holes. But I couldn't put this book down. Its pace and tension is strong beginning to end, with authentic-feeling characters who change gently and naturally over the course of the story.
Also, the main character is likeable because far from being a bored, troubled 14-year-old, he's someone whose mother -- estranged from this grandfather -- is in rehab.
At first, of course, Dylan and his grandfather have no clue what to do with one another. So his grandfather paints canvases while Dylan turns into a handyman, organizing and fixing up the cabin when he's not off exploring the island. There's a nice dollop of humor in Dylan deciding the two are in a contest as to who can speak the fewest words to the other each day.
Then he dusts off some old kayaks and teaches himself to paddle. I love the scene where he first meets the pod of killer whales:
My brain raced, trying to make sense through the fear. No sharks. Sharks didn't travel together. And then I remembered that a shark's dorsal fin has a straight edge... It was a bunch, um, no a herd, no that was wrong. A school... Just then a gigantic fin rose very close to my kayak. Below it I saw a black back and a flash of white and then a head. It wasn't a dolphin -- it was a killer whale, and it was looking right at me! It slid back under the water, and a second one breached right beside it.
Then there's the whale who ends up beached after a storm and tide change, its pod calling to it worriedly from the ocean nearby. It's a scene that brings boy and grandfather together as they work to save it, and leads to a new mutual respect between them.
"We'd just be wasting our time," the grandfather says.
"Do you have someplace you're supposed to be?"
"Of course not."
"So why not try? And even if we can't save him, we still wouldn't have wasted our time. We'd know we had done everything we could. We have to try... Doesn't everybody deserve a second chance?"
It's a metaphor for their torn family, of course, which only Dylan seems to be taking the initiative to mend. It's also a nail-biting scene that doesn't once turn corny. And when the mother joins them after rehab? (Halt right here if you're allergic to spoilers.)
My mom looked a bit confused. "Well, I guess we should get up to the cabin," she said.
"Maybe before we do that, you could start by giving each other a hello hug." I was determined to make these two important people in my life work things out.
They both looked uneasy.
"It's easy. Real easy," I said. "Both of you, come here."
I reached out and threw one arm around my mother and the other around my grandfather. I pulled them both in and felt them extend their arms around me and around each other.
"Grandpa, you were wrong about us being a good team."
"I was?" he asked.
"Yeah, we're not a team. We're a family."
Like all the Orca Currents books, this is a short, easy read sure to draw in any reader, including reluctant or struggling readers. What could be more valuable than that?
August 11, 2023
ON THE ROCKS by Eric Walters is a fantastic, quick read for middle grade readers, in particular those readers who prefer books that are less than 200 pages. Fourteen year old Dylan is sent to live with his grandfather, Angus, who himself lives on an island and is very much isolated from the mainland (no neighbours, no phone, no internet, only the radio). Dylan and his grandfather are pretty much strangers and must figure out how to, not only co-exist with each other, but also connect as family.
Something interesting I noticed about the book is that there’s never a mention of the specific location or geographic region it’s set in. Sure, the author mentions “island” and “mainland” but never what city Dylan used to live in or what province they live in or even if they’re on the west or east coast (that I can recall). I myself lean more towards Dylan and Angus living on the west coast but really, it’s up to the reader’s imagination. I think this literary choice could be both a positive and negative. For some readers, not mentioning specific names or locations could help them better connect with the novel, imagining they themselves are living Dylan’s island experiences. For other readers (like myself), they might prefer learning more details of the author’s vision and knowing those world-building aspects.
Overall, this was a great book and one that I highly recommend! I liked it from the very beginning but I would say I became fully immersed in the plot about halfway through.
Something interesting I noticed about the book is that there’s never a mention of the specific location or geographic region it’s set in. Sure, the author mentions “island” and “mainland” but never what city Dylan used to live in or what province they live in or even if they’re on the west or east coast (that I can recall). I myself lean more towards Dylan and Angus living on the west coast but really, it’s up to the reader’s imagination. I think this literary choice could be both a positive and negative. For some readers, not mentioning specific names or locations could help them better connect with the novel, imagining they themselves are living Dylan’s island experiences. For other readers (like myself), they might prefer learning more details of the author’s vision and knowing those world-building aspects.
Overall, this was a great book and one that I highly recommend! I liked it from the very beginning but I would say I became fully immersed in the plot about halfway through.
November 16, 2025
I love an island book about grandparents and teens. For anyone lucky enough to partake in PBS', "Voyage of the Mimi" in the 1980s, this book will feel like a homecoming. The timeframe here is modern day.
Similar to the author's own book, "High and Dry," which also features the main plot point of saving a beached whale.
Like Cynthia Rylant's, "The Islander," which I just read, this book takes place on a tiny island off the coast of British Columbia. If other readers know more books in this theme and setting, please do recommend.
Eric Walters is a sure thing for comfort reads in my book. I would gladly read more from about this family. There are many possible offshoots for future storytelling.
Similar to the author's own book, "High and Dry," which also features the main plot point of saving a beached whale.
Like Cynthia Rylant's, "The Islander," which I just read, this book takes place on a tiny island off the coast of British Columbia. If other readers know more books in this theme and setting, please do recommend.
Eric Walters is a sure thing for comfort reads in my book. I would gladly read more from about this family. There are many possible offshoots for future storytelling.
February 1, 2021
Dylan has arrived to stay with a grandfather he barely remembers. One day he finds a young killer whale stranded on the beach. Will it survive? You'll have to read to find out.
A quick read that was interesting.
A quick read that was interesting.
March 8, 2023
One of the best Orca books I have read.
April 2, 2023
Very short novella about family. Author does a good job voicing a 14-year old.
March 1, 2024
Cute story
May 25, 2025
This was a cross between "Free Willy" and "Flipper" and it was adorable.
June 19, 2025
I recently re-read this short novel that I loved the first time. The theme of family whether in regards to people or the pod of orca whales fascinates me still. I find inspiration and hope in the healing of relationships and giving others a second chance.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews