Me, an Old Pilot, and a Three-Legged Dog

Summer Rose Watson is a fifteen-year-old army brat whose father is on his third deployment to Afghanistan. Once a straight-A student and youth leader in her church, Summer Rose’s grades begin to slip as she sinks into a depression. She stops attending church and is even caught sneaking out of the house. The only thing that keeps Summer Rose’s rebellion in check is her flying lessons. But even that is taken away when her plane crashes.

In desperation, her mother sends Summer Rose to Palmer, Alaska, to stay with her grandfather. She worries she’ll be stuck out in the wilderness, banished from malls, movies, MTV, and even cell phone service. But once there, she finds things aren’t as bad as she feared. Grandpa Gus restarts her flying lessons, and she gets her driver’s license on her sixteenth birthday. She makes a new friend, Esperanza, and she falls for the captain of the JV football team at Colony High.

But the Greatland can be a brutal place. Summer Rose is forced to handle some very difficult and dangerous adult situations. She witnesses death for the first time and has her own close encounter. What’s more, she suspects something is wrong with Grandpa Gus.

Whether you are a young woman or man and ever wanted to fly, ever wanted to experience Alaska, ever thought the world wasn’t fair, you’ll like this book. It has everything from first kisses to volcanic eruptions. And be careful; you just might learn something.