WILDFIRE

Annie’s best friend Pete is nearly unconscious with fever as wildfires threaten their solitary tent in the Washington wilderness.

Through meandering flashbacks, Annie recounts the events that led up to this dire predicament, including the recent death of Annie’s grandmother and Pete’s plan to hike the Pacific Northwest Trail to snap Annie out of her grief. The two have been campers, thrill seekers, and wilderness lovers since childhood, but Pete’s present plan involves hiking off-trail on a route unreported to their dads. When Pete gets stabbed in the leg with a branch of a shrub, neither could know that their first aid efforts would be in vain or that they would get lost with two dead phone batteries. Interspersed between scenes of incredible natural beauty and inspired joyful discoveries in the wilderness, Annie’s life is illuminated through snippets of memory: how she and Pete both lost their mothers as children, how she has developed feelings for Pete that he may not return; how Pete’s girlfriend, Preet, is too perfect to hate; and, mainly, how deep Annie’s relationship is with her best friend. Despite the somewhat disjointed storytelling, the memories are intensely moving, at turns heartbreaking, joyful, and frightening. Back in the present, Pete’s condition keeps worsening, and Annie must make life-or-death decisions about leaving Pete behind to search for help. All characters are white except for Preet, who is Indian American.

An affecting combination of wilderness adventure and poignant teen angst.