SCOUTS

Sixth grade is out, and Annie is about to have the camping adventure of a lifetime with her three best friends.

The Scouts have been friends since kindergarten, but Annie’s mom isn’t happy that she only hangs out with boys. Beans is a near genius with a burdensome secret. Handsome Fynn has started to like girls. Rocky is coping with his widower dad’s entry into the dating market. Their friend group is under stress, and Annie feels jealous of Fynn’s older cousin, Scarlett, who has tagged along on their trip. But when they witness a UFO crash in the woods near their campsite, they get their problems moving, hoping the adventure will strengthen their relationships. They encounter bat-infested caves, a near drowning, a black bear, a human skeleton, and a stranger named Edge as they seek the mysterious silver object and try to resolve their growing pains. A stereotypical hillbilly family known as the Mason Mountain Clan and a wrongheaded legend about Cherokee gold are two of the weaker storylines in the meandering tale. With a Cherokee mom, biracial Annie knows to call out that legend, but neither her heritage nor Rocky’s (his mom was Vietnamese) is explored in any depth, and the book otherwise adheres to a white default.

This adventure tale about a UFO, set in 1985 Tennessee, sensitively explores the changing nature of adolescent friendships—but its subplots not so much.