Red Fox Road

Red Fox Road

By Frances Greenslade

Francie and her parents are on a road trip.  They have left their home in Penticton and are driving to the Grand Canyon to do some hiking and camping.  As they travel through Oregon, Francie’s dad decides to trust his new GPS and takes a shortcut down a remote logging road.

The road becomes less and less passable and soon their truck begins leaking oil. Eventually the truck stops working altogether and they become hopelessly stuck in the middle of the Oregon wilderness.

Ever-faithful to his technological gadgets, Francie’s dad decides he will walk the rest of the logging road while following directions from his GPS.  Francie and her mom are left behind, but are certain that they will be rescued within a day.  They sleep rather uncomfortably in the truck and ration their minimal supplies which include two water bottles, a few granola bars, and a bag of Scotch mints.

After a couple of days of waiting, Francie wakes up to find her mother gone as well, searching for rescue in the other direction.  Francie is now alone.

Although she is only thirteen, Francie has some experience in the outdoors and has been studying wilderness survival.  She gathers her wits, builds a shelter and a fire, and waits patiently for rescue.  As it turns out, survival will take much more determination and courage than she ever imagined.

Red Fox Road is beautifully written and Francie’s resilience and knowledge are inspiring.  If you love survival stories (like me), you will love this book!

Kerry and the Knight of the Forest

Kerry and the Knight of the Forest

By Andi Watson

Kerry’s parents are very sick and he is their only hope. So Kerry leaves their family farm to retrieve their lifesaving medicine.  As he skirts the forest on the way back, he is led astray by what appears to be a little girl.  But this girl isn’t what she seems.  As Kerry follows her into the woods, he quickly becomes lost.

The forest itself is filled with dangers.  From one-eyed monsters to mystical weed-filled swamps to captive children, Kerry finds peril wherever he runs.  He is desperate to find his way home, but every turn in the forest seems to take him further into darkness.

But on his travels, Kerry also meets an old forest creature called Waystone.  With his one eye and rock-like appearance, Waystone seems rather menacing.   But Kerry quickly learns that Waystone is the Knight of the Forest, a trustworthy fellow who is willing and able to lead Kerry back to his farm.

Even with Waystone on his side, moving through the dark forest is not easy.  But as danger closes in, Kerry unexpectedly finds friends too.  His open heart allows him to trust some of the forest dwellers, despite Waystone’s warnings.  Will Kerry’s faith in the goodness of the world be his ultimate downfall?

Kerry and the Knight of the Forest is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel that leads readers down the path of the old-fashioned lost-in-the-woods fairy tale.  By turns frightening and hopeful, Kerry will keep you hooked from beginning to end.

Tornado Brain

Tornado Brain

By Cat Patrick

Thirteen-year-old Frankie is different from the other kids in her life.  She can’t stand loud noises and doesn’t always understand social cues.  She’s been labelled “neurodivergent” – in other words, her brain works differently.  Frankie is also fascinated by tornadoes, hence the term “tornado brain”.

Frankie has always had two best friends – her twin sister Tess, and Colette.  But lately Tess and Colette haven’t wanted to hang out with her at all – they only want to be with mean Mia.  When Frankie overhears the three of them talking behind her back, she is devastated.

But everything changes when Colette goes missing.  Students from their middle school, including Frankie and Tess, are called to the police station to talk about the last time they saw Colette.  Both Frankie and Tess saw her on the night she went missing but have no idea where she went.

Although Frankie is mad at Colette, she desperately wants to help find her.  She begins to do some investigating herself and discovers some interesting details about Colette’s last known whereabouts.  She also finds clues in some of Colette’s recently-posted videos.  Frankie soon gets completely wrapped up in solving this mystery, and even puts herself and Tess in some danger to solve it.  Along the way she learns that she is a very capable human being and that sometimes, being different is a good thing.

Tornado Brain is a story about finding your own strengths.  It is also a story of friendship and a riveting mystery all rolled into one.

Highly recommended!     

Pine Island Home

Pine Island Home

By Polly Horvath

Fiona, Marlin, Natasha and Charlie McCready are four sisters who have travelled the world with their parents and lived in many places.  During their time in Borneo, the unthinkable happens – their parents take a short vacation to Thailand and are killed in a tsunami.  Luckily their Aunt Martha, whom they have never met, agrees to take them in.  She lives on tiny Pine Island, off the coast of British Columbia.

The girls are understandably anxious about their new home but look forward to it just the same.  Fiona, as the oldest, takes it upon herself to reassure her sisters and to take charge of them on the long flight from Borneo to Canada.  But when they finally arrive in the small town of St. Mary’s by the Sea, they learn of yet another tragedy – Aunt Martha has now died too.

Alone on Martha’s farm, the girls make a decision.  They will live on their own, with 14-year-old Fiona in charge, and try to fool the schools and social services into believing that they have some kind of adult guardian.  It won’t be easy, but they are determined to stay together as sisters and not be split up and sent to different homes.

After acquiring Aunt Martha’s bike, Fiona is able to ride into town, register the girls for school and even pick up a few groceries.  She is also able to meet with Mr. Pennypacker, a lawyer who informs her that the girls have inherited Martha’s farm.  But Fiona realizes that she’s in a real predicament when the schools and Mr. Pennypacker want a guardian’s signature for all the required paperwork.

That’s when the girls meet their neighbour, Al Farber.  He lives in a trailer next door, is extremely rude and disheveled, and sits around drinking beer all the time.  The girls make him a deal that they will bring him dinner every night, and in exchange, he will act as their legal guardian when necessary.

As it turns out, this is a very difficult lie to maintain and Fiona especially feels the stress building.  How will she be able to care for her sisters, pay her bills, go to school and keep up the pretense of having an actual adult looking after her?

Pine Island Home is a lovely story of family ties and close friendships.  It’s the story of sisters who love one another and who create their own new family when their first one is lost.  If you enjoy realistic fiction that leaves you feeling hopeful and happy, try Pine Island Home.