By the River

A memorable YA novel about the tough and tender sides of growing up in a small country town. Fourteen-year-old Harry has a knack for wriggling out of trouble, but escaping the constraints and memories that keep him trapped is not so easy, until it’s a matter of life or death.
Those that leave this town don’t come back.
Life for Harry is about swimming in Pearce Swamp, eating watermelon, schoolyard battles, and running through butterfly swarms in Cowpers Paddock. But when the big river bursts its banks and washes everything downstream, the town becomes too small for him. At fourteen, Harry wants to take his memories and follow his father’s directions out to a world away from his town.