In what Vrabel justly characterizes a "Hatchet and Gretel story," a short hop in a homemade ultralight plane turns into a harrowing ordeal for two sixth-graders feeling betrayed by their parents. Even though his single mom is finally out of prison, Hayes rages at her for deserting him and his little brother, and Gerty, despite losing a baby sister to SIDS, is just finding her balance in school when her survivalist dad announces it's time to leave. Unwillingly brought together by a savvy school counselor, the two outsiders cement a fragile bond by impulsively heading to Pando, a cloned stand of aspen and one of the oldest and biggest single organisms on Earth, just as a massive forest fire shifts into the region. Readers will be swept along by the intense plot, but the way the author also puts her adult cast through hard tests of character over the course of several frantic days, so that by the end both traumatized families have found pathways to healing, adds a rich layer of emotional satisfaction.

As they experience growing pains and family problems, loner middle school students in small-town Utah unknowingly support one another on unexpected journeys of self-discovery.Eleven-year-old Gerty is proud. She knows exactly what she wants and has the grit to get it. She seeks refuge from her survivalist parents in her grandmother Nanny Pat's barn, where she secretly builds an ultralight and dreams of one day being in the Civil Air Patrol. Gerty shares lunches in the school counselor's office twice a week with fellow new student Hayes; both of them need support with social skills. While he struggles with rebuilding a relationship with his ex-con mother and suffers from severe self-doubt, Hayes has a strong inner fire that is one spark from igniting. When turmoil ensues in each of their home lives, Gerty and Hayes seek one another's company. Vibrant depictions of the characters' experiences paired with witty dialogue immerse readers in the main characters' lives. Their heart-wrenching backstories and realistic experiences evoke a deep level of empathy. With chapters purposely shifting from character to character, readers slowly but satisfyingly become part of their lives and friendship and cannot help but root for them until the very end. Main characters are cued White; the school counselor is coded Black.A heartwarming read with a powerful message: The lonely and jaded can heal with the love of an empathetic friend. (Fiction. 8-12)

Vrabel (Lies I Tell Myself) spins a poignant love letter to friendship and a harrowing survival tale in this gripping read. Neither Gerty nor Hayes, both white-cued sixth graders in Rabbit, Utah, think that their participation in their school guidance counselor’s “safe space” lunches, meant to help them practice their social skills, is necessary. As their forced proximity blossoms into real friendship, however, Gerty shows Hayes her most prized and secret possession: an ultralight airplane she is building alone in her grandmother’s barn. Hayes—who is adapting to life with his mother, recently released from prison, while navigating anxious thoughts about ending up alone—welcomes Gerty’s friendship and is fascinated by her survivalist parents. When Gerty’s family announces sudden plans to move off the grid, she and Hayes endeavor to pilot the ultralight at least once before their imminent separation. But the short, spontaneous trip quickly becomes a fight for their lives against injury, illness, forest fires, and unexpected criminal activity. Via Hayes and Gerty’s riveting alternating narratives, Vrabel carefully unspools the history of each tween’s personal trauma and interrogates the necessity of community and forgiveness in working through internal conflicts and surviving external challenges. Ages 8–12. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency. (June)