Off the Map
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
When two ex-best friends get lost in the wilderness, can they outrun a storm and find their way back to safety? From Meika Hashimoto, author of The Trail, comes an action-packed adventure about rekindling friendship and doing what it takes to survive.
Amos and Marlo have always been best friends. From hiking trips to backyard camp-outs, from playing soccer at the park to sitting together at lunch, they did everything together -- until this past school year, when it all fell apart.
Out of nowhere, Amos stopped talking to Marlo, and she has no idea why. Embarrassed and angry, Marlo distracts herself by looking forward to an end-of-year canoe trip with her mom. A special wilderness adventure, just the two of them (and their dog).
But when they arrive at the trail-head in the Alaska wilderness... there's Amos! Their parents have surprised them with a trip together. Things couldn't be any worse.
During the trip, Marlo and Amos do their best to avoid each other at all costs... until their parents pair them in a canoe together. When they start arguing, Amos and Marlo don't notice that the grownups' canoe has disappeared.
They've taken a wrong turn -- and they're heading straight for a waterfall.
Lost in the wilderness, and with a storm brewing, can these two ex-best friends stop fighting long enough to find their way back to safety?
Off the Map contains Meika's signature mix of outdoor adventure and loads of heart. It's about first crushes, friendship breakups, and learning to trust again. A perfect read for fans of Hatchet or Dan Gemeinhart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two former friends must work together to survive after getting lost in this gritty, briskly paced adventure by Hashimoto (The Trail). Spirited and headstrong 13-year-old Marlo is preparing for a four-day canoe trip, during which she will travel down 150 miles of the Yukon River with her river guide mother and her dog, Cheerio. Though she's excited for the trip, it's the first one she's taken since her father left two months ago, which Marlo blames herself for. Her feelings surrounding the trip grow more complicated when Marlo and her mother are joined by Marlo's former best friend Amos and his father. What starts as a straightforward route gets derailed due to Amos and Marlo's communication struggles. Soon the tweens, who are sharing a canoe, get separated from their parents. Now they must confront the reasons behind their crumbling friendship and work together if they hope to survive the Alaskan wilderness. Via vividly detailed prose and a propulsive plot, Hashimoto depicts the harsh realities of surviving in nature. Safety tips, such as boiling river water to sanitize it and the importance of having a first-aid kit, feature throughout, providing foreshadowing and heightening the tension. Ages 8–12.
