About This Book
Reach for this book when your teenager is processing feelings of abandonment, maternal distance, or the prickly transition into independence. While it is a high-stakes survival thriller, the core of the story addresses Erin's deep resentment toward a mother who left her a year prior. It provides a safe space for adolescents to explore the 'messy' emotions of family conflict through the lens of a physical struggle for survival. Best suited for middle schoolers and young teens, it balances the external danger of the Sierra Nevada with the internal work of forgiving a parent and discovering one's own grit. Parents will appreciate the way it validates a child's anger while modeling resilience and the necessity of teamwork during a crisis.
