The premise: Twelve-year-old Mark and his dog, Beau, strike out on an adventure together to climb Mt. Rainier. He's racing down the clock in more ways than one: 1) He ran away from home, and his loving family and friends are trying to get him home safely 2) He has cancer and not much longer to live.
Adventure, road trip books are not normally my thang. I'm not sure why, but when I find out characters are going on a journey that will last the duration of the book, I'm not interested. Needless to say, this book sat on my "to read" shelf (both my literal, bedside shelf and my figurative GoodReads shelf) for a few weeks.
I did, however, enjoy this book. I wouldn't read it again because of the crying (no, the dog doesn't die), but I do enjoy most things (movies, books, real-life activities) with dogs. I did feel that the characters were a bit flat, even Mark, our main character. One of the structures of the book is that after each Mark chapter is a 1/2 chapter which is about what's going on at home. At first these were helpful and interesting, but after awhile, they just added more stress. I also didn't feel like I got to know his family or Jessie any better. I think would have enjoyed more Mark chapters and zero 1/2 chapters.
Rating: ****
Recommended: Dog lovers, 5-8 graders
Diversity: Zero. All white characters with a white male protagonist
If you liked: Hatchet (because hiking and outside)
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