MOUNTAIN RUNAWAYS

Jon, Korka, and Aron Gunnarsson find their world collapsing when their parents are killed in an avalanche. Can they rise above this catastrophic event?

Their Icelandic immigrant parents were wilderness survival experts, and the deadly accident should have been avoidable. The siblings can only surmise that their parents were distracted by their mounting financial problems. Now Children’s Services needs to find them a guardian or place them in the foster care system. The siblings worry that 11-year-old Aron—selectively mute, quirky, imaginative—might be put in a special home. Jon can’t prevent this unless he can keep Aron, middle sibling Korka, and himself safely hidden in the Canadian Rockies for nearly three months until he turns 18 and can be named their legal guardian. The deadly challenges mount—snow, cold, blisters, fever, and sprains—lending a stomach-clenching tension to the tale. Worse, they are in danger of starving. The grieving threesome draw on every skill they have absorbed from their parents, but the hardest challenge may be learning to work together as a team. Their distinct personalities, conflicts, and complex history are well drawn, adding drama and depth. An encounter with another runaway helps give them perspective. Just as it seems they may achieve their goal, another near disaster hits. This time they are completely united, proving they are survivors who can get through anything together.

A satisfying, action-packed story of survival and hope.