Out of the Wilderness

by Deb Vanasse

Overview

Survival. It makes for exciting TV, but all Josh wants a life that passes for normal. A real house, not a cabin in the woods. Hockey, not hunting to put food on the table. Girls. But his half-brother, Nathan, wants to prove himself in the Alaska wilderness, and their father won't let him do it alone. Josh's prospects brighten when an intriguing girl visits remote Willow Creek, but Shannon is entranced with his brother. As Nathan's behavior grows stranger-and more dangerous-Josh confronts the dark side of what it means to be his brother's keeper. "...[A] chilling winter's tale." Publisher's Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781940320014
Publisher:	Running Fox Books
Publication date:	06/21/2013
Pages:	178
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.99(h) x 0.41(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

At age twenty-one, Deb Vanasse was dropped by a bush pilot on a gravel runway in middle of the Alaska wilderness. No roads, no houses, no cars, no people-only a winding brown slough and tundra spread flat as prairie. She had come not for adventure but to live, an isolating but enriching experience that inspired this novel. Between her mountain home and glacier-based cabin, she continues to enjoy Alaska's wild places. The author of more than a dozen books for readers of all ages, she is co-founder of the 49 Alaska Writing Center. Follow her at www.debvanasse.com and www.selfmadewriter.blogspot.com.

Editorial Reviews

Josh, 15, lives with his father and older half-brother, Nathan, in a cabin in the wilderness 100 miles from Anchorage, Alaska. Living there was Nathan's idea; he is full of high-minded ideas about nature that are rigorous but not always realistic. Josh, a pretty good woodsman, would rather live in a place where he could enjoy friends, girls, video games, and hockey, but when he kills a bear that is charging them, Nathan reacts with fury. Josh and his father—who, to Josh's chagrin, would follow Nathan anywhere—learn that Nathan identifies closely with the bears; he decides that he can't live with them because they are meat-eaters, and moves into an elderly neighbor's empty cabin. When the neighbor's relatives (including a pretty 14-year-old girl) come to spend a weekend at the cabin, Josh hopes the conflicts of interest will precipitate his move back to town. In the end, it is Nathan's risky involvement with the bears that forces the issue. Vanasse (A Distant Enemy, 1997) pulls readers into the story from the outset, and her sensitively drawn characters display a realistic mix of love and loyalty. The complex interplay of feelings in this troubled family, set against the pristine beauty of backwoods Alaska, imbues an already compelling read with a refreshing combination of action and psychological depth. (Fiction. 10-14) .

Kirkus Reviews

Josh, 15, lives with his father and older half-brother, Nathan, in a cabin in the wilderness 100 miles from Anchorage, Alaska. Living there was Nathan's idea; he is full of high-minded ideas about nature that are rigorous but not always realistic. Josh, a pretty good woodsman, would rather live in a place where he could enjoy friends, girls, video games, and hockey, but when he kills a bear that is charging them, Nathan reacts with fury. Josh and his fatherwho, to Josh's chagrin, would follow Nathan anywherelearn that Nathan identifies closely with the bears; he decides that he can't live with them because they are meat- eaters, and moves into an elderly neighbor's empty cabin. When the neighbor's relatives (including a pretty 14-year-old girl) come to spend a weekend at the cabin, Josh hopes the conflicts of interest will precipitate his move back to town. In the end, it is Nathan's risky involvement with the bears that forces the issue. Vanasse (A Distant Enemy, 1997) pulls readers into the story from the outset, and her sensitively drawn characters display a realistic mix of love and loyalty. The complex interplay of feelings in this troubled family, set against the pristine beauty of backwoods Alaska, imbues an already compelling read with a refreshing combination of action and psychological depth.
Kirkus Reviews

"A coming-of-age novel with moments of true adventure." School Library Journal

From the Publisher