Matthew can’t believe his mum at first when she tells them they have to leave their home. With his father in prison, they are behind in the rent and now they have to find somewhere else to live.

Mum has a plan though. Her dad, and Matt’s beloved Poppy, has left a beach house empty in the tiny seaside town of Crawley Beach. They can live there, do it up and sell it so they can afford to move back to the city. With no other option, Matthew tells his best friend at school that he’s leaving. Asha and Matt are joined at the hip, doing almost everything together, and this is the worst thing imaginable for them both.

But move Matt and Mum do, leaving behind a disgruntled father in prison who suddenly has no control of what his wife and son do without him.

Matt isn’t impressed at his new tiny town, but gradually settles into the beautiful surroundings, calm of the beach, and a new friendship with Old Bill, an elderly fisherman who lives far from town on his own.

There’s something about Bill that Matt longs to know. When Bill’s name is mentioned in the local fishing club where Mum works, smiles and voices drop, and thunderous faces appear. What did Bill do, wonders Matt, to make these normally friendly locals so hostile?

Matt admits to Asha in a letter that he is loving Crawley Beach, his fishing, and the quiet. At least until his father is released from prison.

The first thing Dad does is try to regain his dominance over his family, but Matt calls him out on it while Mum says nothing as always. It’s only when lives are at stake that Mum steps in and demands solutions.

Matt is torn between what his mother tells him about his father and what he experiences. His new friendship under threat also causes conflict in their once calm new home. All of his worries and questions are soon answered, but only with a loss almost too hard to bear.

Although there are female characters within this story, Saltwater Boy is primarily about relationships between fathers and sons. A friendship between an Indigenous Australian man and the main character Matt, is also central to the story as what is passed on from man to boy is what saves lives, relationships and hidden hurt within a community.

Matthew is a sensitive boy, caring for his mother, respectful of adults, but not scared to stick up for himself or try to correct wrongs. The setting of a remote beach town during the summer holidays is beautifully portrayed, as are the ocean scenes around it.

The move to this tiny town sparks many challenges for Matthew, but his coming of age is moulded by domestic violence, bullying, petty crime, grief, Indigenous people’s history and their rights, and racism. There is a lot packed into this debut novel, but it seems effortlessly written, capturing me and keeping me reading.

A growing bond between Matt and his best friend Asha is touched upon, and is another part of Matt’s growing up.

Saltwater Boy is set in Australia, but change the sea life and nationality of a very kind, wise man, and it can be imagined in any coastal town.

Author – Bradley Christmas

Age – 10+

(2023, Walker Books, Australia, Beach town, Seaside town, New home, Moving, Indigenous Australian, First nations, First Peoples, Fishing, Prison, Domestic Violence, Bullying, Theft, Stealing, Shop lifting, History of Indigenous Australians, Ocean, Survival, Accident, Bullies, Conflict, Courage, Crime, Environment, Family, Friendship, Grief, Growing up, Racism)