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“Preller combines brave characters
with vivid descriptions of the perilous mountain,
grasping readers’ emotions in the same way
as Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet series.”
The good folks at Booklist have long been sympathetic to my work. It seems I can always count on them for a fair and thoughtful reading. This review came across my desk yesterday. As you know, I’m very proud of this book, can’t wait to get it out into the world. Here’s the full review . . .
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Combine a strenuous hike in an unfamiliar wilderness park, lost kids, a dangerous hermit, a rogue mountain lion, a faithful dog, and a savvy female ranger and you have the gist of Preller’s exciting thriller. Grace, 14, and Carter, 11, have agreed to a day hike up Blood Mountain with their father, though their dog, Sitka, is the only one who seems excited at the prospect. The siblings soon leave their slow, out-of-shape father behind, zipping up to the breathtaking outlook. What they don’t realize is that their father has had a heart attack and collapsed, and a PTSD-plagued Marine, who resides on the mountain, is stalking them. Lost, hungry, and alone, Grace and Carter encounter dangers from the wilderness and the Marine. Sectioned into six parts of a day each, this tale of survival is relayed in short chapters that cycle through the various characters’ perspectives. Preller combines brave characters with vivid descriptions of the perilous mountain, grasping readers’ emotions in the same way as Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet series.
BLOOD MOUNTAIN IS A 2019 JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION!
