Cut Off

Shortlisted for the 2016 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards in Young Adult / Middle Reader category.

On Kirkus Review's list of Best Teen Books of 2015

A topical tale of one teen's addiction to the Cyber World - and the Northern adventure that saved his life.

Fourteen-year-old Indio McCracken enjoys meteoric stardom as a guitar prodigy after his father posts a video of him playing. Things quickly go sour when Indio's fame fuels his father's dream of raising the world's next Segovia. Robbed of a normal childhood and already feeling alienated by his mixed Guatemalan-Canadian heritage, Indio desperately seeks escape online by creating a virtual identity, an obsession that almost kills him. Facing school expulsion -- or worse -- unless he kicks his Internet habit, Indio is shipped off to a teen addictions rehab center in the wilds of northern Canada where the adventure of a lifetime awaits him.

We all depend on computers, smartphones, or other handheld devices for sharing information, keeping in touch, and entertaining ourselves. But what happens when our normal interaction with these useful tools crosses the line into addiction?

Award-winning author Jamie Bastedo explores the roots of one "screenager's" passions and pitfalls in this timely tale of oppression, addiction, and deliverance.