This is a poignant tale of a boy who sruggles with changes in his family after his father is sent to jail. He makes poor decisions and chooses friends who need as much help as he does.

This book might divide some people - and perhaps lose some of its potential audience - by being presented in free verse, but it's all the fresher for it. The sparsely-worded pages also help disguise the slightness of the story, although in the end it certainly is rich enough to justify the entrance price. A lad has a problematic year, and so gets to spend the summer with his gran in her old house to get his head straight - but it's not only his problems he has to parse. Can he work out for all our sakes that he can be a good person, and in fact is one full stop, or will the cycle of bitterness, jealousy and violence be sustained another generation?

The style isn't inherently poetic - only now and again do we get really fine poetry, and as a result this isn't literary fiction nor completely the opposite - in the style of what a boy on the cusp of turning twelve would offer. The titles on each page were something I soon had to drop, although I did notice the repetition of one, and a few other pointed decisions. On the whole, the author really captures the wavering mind of a preteen lad, and the situation he finds himself in, in thrall to the town hoodlum with more than enough baggage to fill the pages by himself, is really engaging. I still don't think it really, desperately needed to be free verse, but it didn't fully suffer as a result. The right audience will really go for this - and to some extent I found it memorable, intelligent and ultimately very commendable.

Ebb and Flow is the story of Jett, a young boy carrying guilt and a secret. We learn more about Jett and what has transpired in his life through short vignettes told in free verse. A thread from each vignette carries forward to the next, sometimes it is a person, sometimes an event. These threads tie each scene together to tell us Jett's story. The style of the narrative serves to heighten the emotional intensity of Jett's words. There is an ever present sense of something just below the surface that we can't quite tap into. It is wonderfully atmospheric and effecting.
I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Why can't things just stay the same?
Because life is like the tides.
In, out.
Back, forth.
Push, pull.
High, low.
You just have to go with the flow, you know?

I discovered a book titled Ebb And Flow when I was trying to look for a heartwarming book. These days, I feel that I need a help for my soul, and need to do something that can inspire me to be a better person. Maybe a time to meditate. Maybe discovering a good book. And finally I found a chance. Kids Can Press granted me to read their book titled Ebb And Flow, by Heather Smith. Thank you, Kids Can Press and Netgalley. :)
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FYI, Ebb and Flow are not the name of person. It’s an idiom that closest in meaning to tides. You know, in and out. Back and forth. High and low. It makes me wonder that the title is very philosophical for a children book (Well, I haven’t mention that Ebb And Flow is a children book. Hehe.. Sorry. But it’s more than that. Trust me).

whenerver I felt like I was falling
I'd whisper NO REGRETS
and I'd bounce so high
I'd fly through the sky
and lose myself
in the clouds.

But, in the end,
when I needed it most,
the safety net
wasn't there.

The book depicts about the lowest point of a boy’s life named Jett. He and his mother have to move to a new town for a fresh start after his father went to jail. He arrives there with guilt and thought that it is all his fault. There, Jett lives with his grandmother who is trying to help him cope with everything he is facing.

Mom had called it our fresh start,
but it felt like the end of something,

Ebb and Flow is a children book. The writer knows how to write in the children’s point of view and how the children see the world. However, as I read this book, I know that children’s world is more complicated, especially to express the feeling. So I conclude that this book is written not only for children but also for adults.

That's the thing
about being someone new --
once you kill your old self
and bury it deep undergrounf
it'll never comeback,
no matter how hard you dig.

Writing in artfully crafted free-verse vignettes, Heather T. Smith uses a deceptively simple style to tell a powerful and emotionally charged story. The engaging narrative and the mystery of Jett's secret keep the pages turning. I finished reading this book only in 3 hours. But it successfully drives me become book-hangover--the feeling when you finish the book but you still think about it long after that.

I really love this book because of the heartwarming story and some twist here and there. Honestly, this book teach me how to forgive myself for the things I’ve done and the things I didn’t do. I try to accept my mistakes through the lense of a boy named Jett and his grandmother. It’s okay to make mistakes, so I can learn. And this book reminds me that there’s always reasons why people do bad things or act bad towards each other. We are bad. But it doesn’t make us wrong.

Can people tell if you've changed on the inside?
Depends on a person, I guess.
Some people, it seems, can look right into your soul.

I recommend this book for children to grow their empathy towards each other no matter what their condition are. And to adults, so they can forgive themselves for the things they call mistakes.

This astonishing book about a boy who has made a mistake, is feeling guilty for his actions, and his grandmother who is trying to help him was a captivating read. The free flow poetry was an interesting way to tell the sad story of Jett and Junior and Alf. The reader gets a better feel for Jett’s emotions because of this style. The comparison of the sea glass’s battering turning it into a gem is something every person can relate to, as is the remorse felt by Jett because of his actions. This book is an appreciable read for any young person, it would help them understand we all make mistakes and feeling regret is a normal part of that process.