I Am Still Alive
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
"This tense wire of a novel thrums with suspense. . . . [this book] just might be the highlight of your summer.”–The New York Times
Cheryl Strayed's Wild meets The Revenant in this heart-pounding story of survival and revenge in the unforgiving wilderness.
After: Jess is alone. Her cabin has burned to the ground. She knows if she doesn’t act fast, the cold will kill her before she has time to worry about food. But she is still alive—for now.
Before: Jess hadn’t seen her survivalist, off-the-grid dad in over a decade. But after a car crash killed her mother and left her injured, she was forced to move to his cabin in the remote Canadian wilderness. Just as Jess was beginning to get to know him, a secret from his past paid them a visit, leaving her father dead and Jess stranded.
After: With only her father’s dog for company, Jess must forage and hunt for food, build shelter, and keep herself warm. Some days it feels like the wild is out to destroy her, but she’s stronger than she ever imagined.
Jess will survive. She has to. She knows who killed her father…and she wants revenge.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Marshall's striking first novel follows two parts of 16-year-old Jess Cooper's life: before and after her father is murdered and she's left to fend for herself in the Canadian wilderness. After her mother dies in a car crash that leaves Jess with a bad foot, she travels from Seattle to Canada to live with her father, who left them years before. He lives in a remote cabin in the woods and attempts to teach Jess survival skills, but she resents him, and they agree that she'll stay there one year and then decide whether to return home. But she soon discovers that her dad is mixed up with some bad guys, and when they show up to collect their loot, they kill him, leaving her alone with his dog, Bo. To stay alive, Jess must summon great physical and mental strength; she learns to hunt, fish, build fire, and find shelter, but any mistake could be fatal. Marshall builds tension steadily as winter approaches and Jess plots her revenge. The diary format and Marshall's immersive descriptions will hook readers into this exhilarating survival story. Ages 12 up.
