By the river - Steven Herrick

This is a memorable young adult novel about the tough and tender sides of growing up in a small country town. Life for Harry means swimming in Pearce Swamp, eating chunks of watermelon with his brother and his dad, surviving schoolyard battles, and racing through butterflies in Cowpers Paddock. In his town there's Linda, who brings him the sweetest-ever orange cake, and Johnny, whose lightning fists draw blood in a blur, and there's a mystery that Harry needs to solve before he can find a way out... By The River is about feeling the undercurrents, finding solid ground and knowing when to make a leap.