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Publisher Description
Two teens uncover a secret hidden in the Cascade Mountains that spans generations, stringing together family skeletons, lost stories, and a discovery of love and self in this tense and emotional young adult thriller with “great holds, great movement, and a worthwhile finish” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
Cara is on the cusp of adventure. Unlike her best friends, she doesn’t want to go to college, she wants different kinds of challenges. And anyway, home just doesn’t fit anymore. She is growing distant from her friends and hasn’t spoken to her father in eons. To make matters worse, her ex-boyfriend and fellow climber, Nat, has popped back into town after breaking up with her over text. So it’s the perfect time to leave, and she has big plans for a gap year to rock-climb in Patagonia.
But when Cara hears that her father is actually missing, things change. While trying to track him down, she discovers a trail of clues centering around the history and life of the legendary mountaineer, outdoorsman, author, and all-around climber (or “dirtbag”), Beckett Friedrichs. And unfortunately, the only person who knows enough about Friedrichs to make sense of any of this is Nat.
Their search for Cara’s father will lead into the Cascade Mountains, up a harrowing rock face, and through time as Nat and Cara explore the history of World War II with the impact of Pearl Harbor and its Japanese Incarceration Camps, Cara’s family, and each other.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this genre-blending adventure, Bradbury (A Moment Comes) injects a high-stakes mystery with adrenaline. Recent high school graduate Cara plans to spend her summer working various odd jobs, rock climbing, and gearing up for her gap year traipsing through Patagonia. When Nat, her ex-boyfriend and fellow rock-climbing enthusiast, reappears in town, however, it sends her into an emotional spiral. She does her best to avoid Nat, until her depressed father—whom she hasn't spoken to in months—disappears. He leaves behind a trailer filled with clues in the form of old photographs, annotated maps, Beckett Friedrich climbing guides, and coded notes that Cara's convinced only history-loving Friedrich superfan Nat can unravel. Her father's trail leads the teens into the Cascade Mountains, where they face strenuous challenges, learn more about Cara's family's past, and find their way back to each other. Bradbury interweaves Cara's urgent first-person narration with brief diary entries by an adventurer from the 1940s, which tell a parallel story of young love hampered by racism during WWII. Cara's tenacity and grit make her a heroine to root for, and her determination to find her father no matter the cost conveys a complex, heartfelt relationship. Cara is white and of Japanese ancestry; Nat cues as white. Ages 12–up.
