• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7

A reissue of a Canadian classic, this novel by award-winning author Eric Walters brings alive a little-known chapter of Canadian history.

It is 1915, and Canada is embroiled in the First World War. The East Coast is under threat from German U-boats that are sinking ships and endangering coastal towns. It all seems very far away from the life of fifteen-year-old William McCracken -- a Halifax lad who has developed a taste for gambling and tough ways.

William thinks he has a summer of mischief ahead of him until he discovers that his mother has arranged for him to spend the season working with an inventor by the name of Alexander Graham Bell. In a Nova Scotia outport, Bell and his crew are at work on his latest invention -- a hydrofoil boat that will help the Allies defend the coast from the German danger. But there's a deadly menace hovering over the project, and suddenly, William finds his "boring" summer job transformed into an action-packed race to solve a terrifying mystery.

Eric Walters is the author of many acclaimed and bestselling novels for children and young adults. His novels have won numerous awards, including the Silver Birch, Blue Heron, Red Maple, Snow Willow, Ruth Schwartz, and Tiny Torgi, and have received honours from the Canadian Library Association Book Awards and UNESCO's international award for Literature in Service of Tolerance.

Eric lives in Mississauga with his wife, Anita, and three children, Christina, Nicholas, and Julia. When not writing or touring across the country speaking to school groups, Eric spends time playing or watching soccer and basketball, or playing the saxophone.

To find out more about Eric and his novels, or to arrange for him to speak at your school, visit his website at www.ericwalters.net.

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