Adrift in Time Author:John Wilson Set in the present day, John Wilson's young adult novel Adrift in Time explores the tensions in family life between parents and children. It also demonstrates how the new generation's knowledge of the family's past can ease those tensions. The novel opens with Ian, a teenager, finding that he no longer enjoys spending his summer holidays at ... more »the family cottage on Mayne Island in British Columbia, Canada. Arguments with his father grow more and more frequent, and Ian feels that his father refuses to see his point of view, always going on about the old days and long-dead relatives. Ian takes off in his boat to assert his independence by rowing to the next island but things go seriously wrong as the current sweeps him out into the open waters of Georgia Strait. As night falls and hypothermia sets in, Ian loses hope of rescue. A succession of long-dead ancestors and local characters led by Emily, Ian's great grandmother, appear on the boat and proceed to share their stories—stories of pioneer life on the Gulf Islands. These stories help Ian to understand his family and inspire him to persevere until dawn brings rescue.« less