Debut novelist Dan Gemeinhart will have readers at the edge of their seats with this story of a 12-year-old determined to carry out his promise to his grandfather: to climb Mt. Rainier.
The last thing Mark suffers from is self-pity. Readers discover early on that he was diagnosed with cancer at age five, that it went into remission, and now it's back. His best friend, Jessica Rodriguez, has stuck by him through it all, and this platonic, enduring friendship at the center of the story buoys both Mark and readers. Mark's first-person narrative alternates with the third-person account from Jessie's perspective.
"The mountain was calling me," Mark begins. "I had to run away." At first, readers don't know how urgent Mark's quest is. He packs up his spotted dog, Beau, and some supplies and heads to the station. He buys two tickets from Wenatchee, Wash., to Spokane as a decoy, then walks around the corner to the train platform and waits for the one bound for Seattle.
Mark smashes his grandfather's pocket watch ("Tick. Tick. Tick. Time, running out"). They were supposed to make this trip together, but just as Mark started feeling better, his grandfather got sick. Now it was up to Mark to complete their dream. Gemeinhart puts forth no romantic notions of going it alone: Mark gets beaten up and robbed, sleeps on the streets and gets kicked off a bus on which he stows away. And all along his illness drags him down ("the headache was gnawing on my brain with rusty razor teeth"). But strangers also show him kindness along his journey, Beau's loyalty remains unshakable, and Mark's determination keeps him going.
Readers may feel as much empathy for Jessie as they do Mark. Throughout their friendship, they've written haiku to each other, leaving the poems tucked in secret places known only to them. Jessie is the only one who knows where Mark may be headed, and as Mark's parents start to unravel and a storm threatens, Jessie is faced with a dilemma: Does she keep her friend's secret, or aid in a rescue he may not want? ("What should a friend do?/ How to help, when helping and/ hurting are the same?" she writes.)
Gemeinhart makes each step up the seemingly unscalable mountain feel authentic. Give this to fans of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet for its boy (and dog) against nature plot line. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness
Shelf Talker: For fans of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, this debut novel featuring boy (and dog) against nature will have readers at the edge of their seats.