Reckless

By Lesley Choyce

Josh knows he’s riding recklessly when he knocks down an old man on a logging road. But he is shocked when the old man walks into the forest with his dirt bike. A week without his beloved bike motivates Josh to hike into the woods to confront the crazy old man he suspects is the hermit of Loggerman Creek.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Mar 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781554692255

Lesley Choyce

Lesley Choyce is an award-winning author of more than 100 books of literary fiction, short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, young adult novels and several books in the Orca Soundings line. His works have been shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, the White Pine Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award, among others. Lesley lives in Nova Scotia.

Reviews for Reckless

[skstiles612 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can a hermit and a teen possibly have in common? Most people, especially teens would answer, “nothing”. Joshua was about to find out just how much he had in common with the hermit who lived in the woods. His life changed the day he ran down the old hermit on an old logging trail, and then watched the man walk into the woods with his bike. Joshua lived for the days he could hop on his bike and tear into the woods. It wasn’t just the thrill of riding it was sitting in the quiet woods absorbing the peacefulness that surrounded him. Of course he would never tell that to anyone. After a week of no bike, Joshua decided to get his bike back. That is when he really met the hermit named Jonathon. Jonathon had fixed up Joshua’s bike like new. Over a period of time they find out just how much they are alike and what true friendship is. I absolutely loved this book. I loved the lifestyle the old hermit lived. I think this goes back to my fondness for the old pioneer days and my growing up in my great-grandmother’s farm house. A lot of people think these were simpler times because of no television, phones, etc. They were hard working times and most people got the satisfaction of communing with nature and working with their hands. I believe Joshua felt this way. He didn’t give up his technology but embraced the peacefulness that took him away from the crazy world if only for a few hours. I also think meeting Jonathon gave him a new outlook on how events shape our lives and how our mind must sometimes go into survival mode. I am hoping that my students will love this book as much as I did. It is appropriate for the very topics we have been covering in my reading class about survival. This is definitely an author I will look for in the future. A nice, clean simple read that lifted my spirits.