Deadfall

October 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Twins Cory and Ty Bic have stolen a car and are on the run through the wilderness in Oregon. After stopping to investigate deer lying in the middle of a mountain road, they discover fresh tire tracks that go off-road into a ravine. When they reach the wrecked car to investigate, they hear sounds coming from the trunk and no driver in sight. Despite the danger following the brothers, they decide to open the trunk only to find a girl handcuffed, blindfolded, and badly hurt-and someone (presumably the driver of the car) is hunting them. In chapters that alternate between the past and the present, readers will learn about the troubles in the boys' pasts and the current dangers they must endure. This wilderness survival story covers topics of drugs, child abuse, and sex trafficking. Readers will get caught up with the characters and harrowing situation, but extensive dialogue could bog reluctant readers down. VERDICT Recommended for most collections.-Terri Lent, Patrick Henry High School, Ashland, VA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2018
Troubled twin brothers go from the frying pan into the fire when they encounter a girl who needs their help in the cold wilderness of the Pacific Northwest.Sixteen-year-old twins Ty and Cory Bic's father, Benny, was an unstable grifter and a cruel and abusive father, especially hard on overweight, thoughtful Cory. Following Benny's death in a fire, the boys, who are presumably white, are shuttled to Luster, Oregon, where they find stability with their new foster parents, the Motts, whose powerful patriarch is on the cusp of a Senate run. After stumbling on a damaging secret about Mr. Mott, the boys take off, discovering a wrecked car in the woods with a zip-tied teen girl in the trunk. The driver is nowhere to be found. Cory is left to tend to the seemingly mute girl after being separated from Ty. As her condition worsens and the wolves, human and otherwise, circle the door of their hideout, Cory realizes that the considerable sins of their father are coming back to haunt them. Told in flashbacks and Cory's tense, present-day narration, Wallenfels' (Bad Call, 2017, etc.) tightly plotted roller coaster ride features very bad guys doing very bad things and fraught family drama. Aspiring chef and avid gamer Cory is worth rooting for, and his complex relationship with the volatile Ty, plus themes like physical abuse and abuse of power, adds depth.A hair-raising, explosive thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)

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October 15, 2018
Grades 9-12 In a stolen Volvo on a lonely stretch of treacherous road, twin brothers Ty and Cory pull over to avoid hitting a dying deer. The deer leads them to a car wrecked in the canyon below, the driver gone?but when they find a girl, tied and injured in the trunk, they're thrown into a strained and dangerous situation. But 16 months ago, circumstances set Ty and Cory onto a dire path of their own. Since then, they've been paying for their father's crimes, while trying to carve out a future for themselves, and in the woods now, everything is more connected than it seems, and it's all coming to a head. Chapters alternate between the third-person past narration and the present, told in Cory's tense, first-person voice. The busy story lines of the past-tense chapters contrast sharply with the urgent, single-minded present-day scenes, where survival is the goal, but the alternation keeps things moving, and sweet, good-natured Cory is easy to root for. A suspenseful thriller for fans of wilderness survival stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)