When first published in 1980, "Far from Shore" was hailed as unique and innovative. Author Kevin Major broke new ground in a young adult novel by using a multinarrative structure - five different voices - to tell the story of a troubled youth.
Fifteen-year-old Chris Slade lives in a small coastal community on the island of Newfoundland. Faced with instability on many sides, he searches for direction in a family broken apart by unemployment. Even his easy-going, humorous attitude fails to steady him as he stumbles through the summer after tenth grade: he's failed his year, he can't find a summer job, and he's incredibly bored. So the first thing he heads for is trouble - trouble that ends in a confrontation with the law. Work as a counselor at a summer camp offers the challenge of a fresh start, but it is here, amid new responsibilities, that he encounters his toughest test as a young man.