BACKCOUNTRY, by Jenny Goebel, Scholastic Press, Dec. 5, 2023, Paperback, $8.99 (ages 8-12)
A girl and her diabetic alert dog face must work together when they’re stranded in the wilderness in Backcountry, by Jenny Goebel.
Emily has always excelled at sports, and her athletic abilities have given her confidence on and off the courts. So, when she starts to drag during her middle school volleyball season, she assumes it must be the flu. Why else would she be missing simple spikes and blocks? But after a particularly intense game she finds herself riding in the back of an ambulance, a paramedic telling her that her life will never be the same.
Adjusting to life with type 1 diabetes isn’t easy. Emily is desperate to prove that she’s just as strong and capable as ever, so she jumps at the opportunity to go on a backcountry ski trip with her dad and her new diabetic alert dog, Molly.
But when an avalanche rips through the area, separating Emily from her father, she and Molly are left to face a challenge far greater than anything she could have imagined. When it becomes clear that no one will come to their rescue before their food and insulin run out, Emily and Molly must find strength they didn’t know they possessed — and faith in one another — to survive the harsh wintery conditions and escape the backcountry. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic Press
Though it’s not based on real events, Backcountry is an adventure story perfect for fans of Terry Lynn Johnson’s Survivor Diaries series and Lauren Tarshis’ I Survived series.
At the heart of Backcountry is Emily, an athlete whose life is turned upside down when she’s diagnosed with diabetes. Emily desperately wants her life to go back to normal, but as she prepares for her backcountry trip with her dad, she realizes that her entire family is going to have to get used to a “new” type of normal.
But that new type of normal doesn’t mean that Emily isn’t still the same smart and tenacious young woman she was before. And it’s that grit that Emily must draw upon if she wants to survive.
Author Jenny Goebel has a knack for setting a scene. Whether a packed school gym or the expanse of a snow-covered wilderness, you find yourself immediately transported.
Backcountry is a fast-paced middle-grade adventure perfect for a winter-break read.
Copyright © 2023 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.
