Such a feeling of foreboding, right from the very beginning!
This book was INTENSE.
From the prologue, there was always this sense of foreboding, like you can kind of guess where things are going to go, but you kind of hope that you're wrong only to be proven later that you were right. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire duration of this ride, and I enjoyed every second of it.
You have four teens: Ceo, Rhody, Grahame, and Colin. After a game of high-stakes poker one Saturday night, it's agreed that they all go along with Ceo's plan of hiking to "Cannabis Cove" in Yosemite. When it comes time to leave, Rhody ends up backing out at the last minute, and that's really the last we see or hear from him. With one man down, Ceo reaches out to an old "friend" that he met at a theater camp to fill the suddenly vacant space. Her name is Ellie.
I really loved the tension that the author was able to build up here. Grahame and Ceo have a constant battle of egos throughout the whole trip; the former is the #1 tennis player in their school, and the latter is sitting uncomfortably at #2, and he's tries to do everything he can to change that, even if it means cheating (which, don't say that to Ceo's face, because he hates the 'C' word, even though he has no problems accusing it of others).
Grahame does this really poor impersonation of a Jamaican accent, mostly, I think, because it gets under Ceo's skin, but also because, as Colin observes later on in the story, he's under some kind of stress. I think it also comes out as a kind of defense mechanism, as well. It could get annoying after awhile, but I think that was the point. Grahame is a difficult character to understand (also observed by Colin). You never know what you're going to get with him, and as the story progresses, that uncertainty becomes a terrifying thing.
The biggest tension lies with the ax that Grahame insists on carrying with him on the hike. "Cannabis Cove" turns out to be fake, and the trail that they signed a permit for was shut down due to fires, so they decide to hike the backcountry instead. Ceo and Grahame race each other to the top of the mountain, Ceo carrying the ax because he has the straps to hold, and Grahame being talked into putting a 20-pound boulder in his backpack "to make it even." That leaves Colin and Ellie alone, walking the trail together.
When reading this book, I thought their biggest issue was just going to be the storm that hit out of nowhere, but it turns out, one them had a dark streak that's been building for awhile and finally snaps on another member of the group. I liked that there was obvious research that went into the description of hiking the backcountry (according the 'Acknowledgments' in the back of the book, the author has a brother who's an "expert" at it), from the weather's intensity, the lay of the land. I thought it was really well done.
The only reason I didn't give this a full 5-stars is because I kind of wanted to know more about Rhody. He's such a small, minuscule player in all of this, really only there for the big revelation, but I would have liked to see more of him, regardless. He's really only mentioned in name only, but, oh well. It was still a fantastic story. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.
From the prologue, there was always this sense of foreboding, like you can kind of guess where things are going to go, but you kind of hope that you're wrong only to be proven later that you were right. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire duration of this ride, and I enjoyed every second of it.
You have four teens: Ceo, Rhody, Grahame, and Colin. After a game of high-stakes poker one Saturday night, it's agreed that they all go along with Ceo's plan of hiking to "Cannabis Cove" in Yosemite. When it comes time to leave, Rhody ends up backing out at the last minute, and that's really the last we see or hear from him. With one man down, Ceo reaches out to an old "friend" that he met at a theater camp to fill the suddenly vacant space. Her name is Ellie.
I really loved the tension that the author was able to build up here. Grahame and Ceo have a constant battle of egos throughout the whole trip; the former is the #1 tennis player in their school, and the latter is sitting uncomfortably at #2, and he's tries to do everything he can to change that, even if it means cheating (which, don't say that to Ceo's face, because he hates the 'C' word, even though he has no problems accusing it of others).
Grahame does this really poor impersonation of a Jamaican accent, mostly, I think, because it gets under Ceo's skin, but also because, as Colin observes later on in the story, he's under some kind of stress. I think it also comes out as a kind of defense mechanism, as well. It could get annoying after awhile, but I think that was the point. Grahame is a difficult character to understand (also observed by Colin). You never know what you're going to get with him, and as the story progresses, that uncertainty becomes a terrifying thing.
The biggest tension lies with the ax that Grahame insists on carrying with him on the hike. "Cannabis Cove" turns out to be fake, and the trail that they signed a permit for was shut down due to fires, so they decide to hike the backcountry instead. Ceo and Grahame race each other to the top of the mountain, Ceo carrying the ax because he has the straps to hold, and Grahame being talked into putting a 20-pound boulder in his backpack "to make it even." That leaves Colin and Ellie alone, walking the trail together.
When reading this book, I thought their biggest issue was just going to be the storm that hit out of nowhere, but it turns out, one them had a dark streak that's been building for awhile and finally snaps on another member of the group. I liked that there was obvious research that went into the description of hiking the backcountry (according the 'Acknowledgments' in the back of the book, the author has a brother who's an "expert" at it), from the weather's intensity, the lay of the land. I thought it was really well done.
The only reason I didn't give this a full 5-stars is because I kind of wanted to know more about Rhody. He's such a small, minuscule player in all of this, really only there for the big revelation, but I would have liked to see more of him, regardless. He's really only mentioned in name only, but, oh well. It was still a fantastic story. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.