Bad Call

Gr 9 Up—On what was supposed to be an "epic" camping trip to Yosemite National Park, Colin, Ceo, Grahame and Rhodey make one bad decision after another. First, Rhodey bails out at the last minute and is replaced by Ellie, a friend of Ceo that Colin and Grahame have never seen or heard about before. After deciding to keep going despite a fire in part of the park and an ill-advised race to the top by Ceo and Grahame, they make it to the apex of Yosemite. When a freak storm hits, they are unprepared. Ceo and Grahame are becoming increasingly hostile, and when the two go into the woods to get firewood, only Grahame makes it back to the camp carrying nothing but a bloody axe. After Grahame snaps and abandons his friends, and despite his conviction that Ceo is still alive, an exhausted and hypothermic Colin decides to leave his friend to get himself and Ellie back home safely. But is this just another bad call? Wallenfels makes a good call by telling this from the viewpoints of Colin and Ellie. It is interesting to see the story unfold through their disparate perspectives rather than a more conventional narrative. However, as the two of them come together and the action increases, their voices become more similar and the need for the separation becomes unnecessary. This well-written psychological thriller has a slow start filled with backstory, which gives readers a better chance to get to know the characters so they are more emotionally invested in each one's ultimate fate.