Sole ­Survivor

Gr 5-8–This riveting middle grade memoir recounts the harrowing true story of 11-year-old Norman Ollestad, who survived a plane crash in the San Gabriel Mountains during a blizzard. The coauthors weave Ollestad’s childhood trauma into a gripping survival narrative, rich with flashbacks that explore themes of resilience, complicated parental love, and self-discovery. The narrative includes heart-racing scenes of ski-racing slopes and surfing Topanga’s swells, along with emotional scenes like that of a boy caught between an adventurous father and a domineering stepfather. The crash sequence is cinematic in detail and pulse-pounding in intensity, yet it’s Ollestad’s grappling with fear, forging independence, and ultimately surviving alone that will resonate most deeply with readers. Fans of Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet or Lauren Tarshis’s “I Survived” series will find both kinship and catharsis here, though this memoir is uniquely poignant due to its autobiographical roots. With clean, visceral prose and thematic complexity, this book stands out as a survival story and a meditation on identity.