Red Fox Road

by Frances Greenslade

Overview

A thirteen-year-old girl on a family vacation becomes stranded alone in the wilderness when the family's GPS leads them astray. A compelling survival story for ages 10 to 14, for fans of Hatchet and The Skeleton Tree.

Francie and her parents are on a spring road trip: driving from British Columbia, Canada, to hike in the Grand Canyon. When a shortcut leads them down an old logging road, disaster strikes. Their truck hits a rock and wipes out the oil pan. They are stuck in the middle of nowhere. Francie can't help feeling a little excited — she'd often imagined how she'd survive if she got stranded in the bush, and now here they are. But will her survival skills — building fires, gathering dandelion leaves and fir needles for tea — be enough when hours stretch into days?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735267817
Publisher:	Tundra Book Group
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

FRANCES GREENSLADE was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, and has since lived in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Winnipeg and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from UBC. Her first book, a travel memoir called A Pilgrim in Ireland: A Quest for Home, won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Non-Fiction. Her second memoir, By the Secret Ladder: A Mother's Initiation, was published in 2007, and her novel, Shelter, was published in 2011. Greenslade teaches English at Okanagan College in Penticton, B.C. Red Fox Road is her first novel for young readers. www.francesgreenslade.com @franciegreenslade (Instagram)

Editorial Reviews

"Frances Greenslade is brilliant in her portrayal of the half-suspected world that lies just beyond the senses of every thirteen year old. The book's a triumph." —Alan Bradley, bestselling author of the Flavia de Luce series

"Rendered with exquisite sensory detail, this hero’s journey is a resonant read for unsettling times." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

"[A] true-to-life page-turner of a story. . . . Adventurous and exciting." —CM Reviews

From the Publisher

★ 2020-07-14
A hazardous choice on a family trip generates cascading events that leave a teen struggling to survive in the Oregon wilderness.

Unlike her father, 13-year-old Francie and her mother enjoy hiking. During the family’s drive from Penticton, British Columbia, to the Grand Canyon, Dad opts for a shortcut that his new GPS indicates should cut 100 miles from their trip. Mom’s doubts—his road’s not on her paper map—prove justified as the road grows rougher and night approaches. Francie reads her survival guidebook and naps until a rock takes out their truck. Making the best of things—they’ve got camping gear, though little food and no cellphone (her parents don’t like them)—they spend a night in the vast, beautiful forest. The next morning, Dad sets off for help, carrying their tent and the GPS. As days of waiting pass, Mom—mentally unstable since Francie’s twin sister died from a congenital heart defect—starts behaving erratically. Francie copes with her own fear by planning and preparing for contingencies. She’ll need all her hard-won knowledge as challenges mount. Resourceful, doggedly careful, courageous Francie brightens this often somber tale. As she’s recovering from a scary bear encounter, the clear night sky enchants her. Her love and respect for the wilderness, its plants and denizens who are simply trying—like her—to survive, shine. Francie and her parents are White.

Rendered with exquisite sensory detail, this hero’s journey is a resonant read for unsettling times. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews