Navigating Early
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“Just the sort of book that saves lives by igniting a passion for reading.” —James Patterson
“Reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn.” —The Wall Street Journal
A Michael L. Printz Honor Winner
From the author of Newbery Medal winner Moon Over Manifest comes the odyssey-like adventure of two boys’ incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail.
When Jack Baker’s father sends him from his home in Kansas to attend a boys’ boarding school in Maine, Jack doesn’t know what to expect. Certainly not Early Auden, the strangest of boys. Early keeps to himself, reads the number pi as a story, and refuses to accept truths others take for granted. Jack, feeling lonely and out of place, connects with Early, and the two become friends.
During a break from school, the boys set out for the Appalachian Trail on a quest for a great black bear. As Jack and Early travel deeper into the mountains, they meet peculiar and dangerous characters, and they make some shocking discoveries. But their adventure is only just beginning. Will Jack’s and Early’s friendship last the journey? Can the boys make it home alive?
An ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection
An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book
A New York Times Editor’s Choice
A New York Times Bestseller
An Indie Pick
A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Books for Youth Editors’ Choice Selection
A BookPage Best Children’s Book
A Texas Lone Star Reading List Selection
A Notable Children's Book in Language Arts Book
A Down East Magazine Best of Maine Book
A North Carolina Young Adult Book Award Master List Selection
An Iowa Children's Choice Award Finalist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"You have to look for the things that connect us all. Find the ways our paths cross, our lives intersect, and our hearts collide," Jack's mother told him before she died. Her words will come to have special meaning for readers spellbound by this atmospheric novel set at the end of WWII from Newbery Medalist Vanderpool (Moon over Manifest). After his mother is buried, 13-year-old Jack a clear-eyed narrator with a great sense of humor, despite his recent heartbreak is sent to a Maine boarding school, where he meets an eccentric student named Early Auden, who might today be labeled autistic. Early is obsessed with the number pi and believes that Pi is a boy on an epic journey, and in danger. Jack agrees to accompany Early on his quest to rescue Pi, and as the boys head into the wilderness, their adventures have an eerie resemblance to Early's stories about Pi, as do Jack and Early's own sad histories. This multilayered, intricately plotted story has a kaleidoscopic effect, blurring the lines between reality and imagination, coincidence and fate. Ages 9 12.
