Along a treacherous stretch of beach in northern California known as the Graveyard of the Wrecks, a powerful storm pounded the shore, making the sea more dangerous by the minute. Dave and Jim, fun-loving buddies, and Carl, their solemn and serious friend, had trekked to the beach for their annual float-hunting expedition. This time Dave had brought along Shari, his girlfriend and the first girl ever allowed to accompany the boys on their search for glass fishing floats. Though the trip would be hard, Shari had agreed to walk with the boys up to Spanish Flat to beachcomb for three days in the pouring rain.
It was the middle of February and the weather was perfect—perfect for finding floats, that is. Heavy storms washed ashore great numbers of glass floats, making it easier and more likely to find a prize ball. And that was what all three of the boys, infected with “float fever,” were looking for.
This weekend trip, however, turned out to be more than just a beachcombing expedition. When Carl finds a rare float, his seriousness quickly turns to suspicion, and he accuses Shari, Dave, and Jim of trying to steal the one-of-a-kind glass ball from his pack. When Shari finds the remains of an Indian midden—an ancient mound of artifacts that is protected by law—Carl urges the friends to dig in the mound, interpreting their refusal as a plot to excavate it themselves, and to leave Carl out of the findings. As Carl’s unfounded suspicions grow, the trip develops into a test of wills and a lesson in trust and friendship, which is finally realized only after a desperate and near fatal struggle for survival.
An exciting and engrossing novel for young adult readers, Adventure on the Graveyard of the Wrecks honestly deals with the importance of trust among friends, and what can happen if a person betrays the trust that true friends have given him.