What happened in the woods that day? Pete Hautman’s riveting middle-grade novel touches on secrets and mysteries — and the power of connections with family and friends.
“Hatred combined with lies and secrets can break the world.” Grandpa Zach used to say that before he died, but Stuey never really knew what he meant. It was kind of like how he used to talk about quantum physics or how he used to say ghosts haunted their overgrown golf course. But then one day, after Stuey and his best friend, Elly Rose, spend countless afternoons in the deadfall in the middle of the woods, something totally unbelievable happens. As Stuey and Elly Rose struggle to come to grips with their lives after that reality-splitting moment, all the things Grandpa Zach used to say start to make a lot more sense. This is a book about memory and loss and the destructive nature of secrets, but also about the way friendship, truth, and perseverance have the ability to knit a torn-apart world back together.
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“There’s a rip in the space-time continuum, and two ordinary kids have to repair it. Trickier still is making such a feat seem believable for the reader. It is a trick that Mr. Hautman pulls off magnificently in this thought-provoking story. Readers ages 8-14 may find themselves mulling over the enigmatic ideas it raises long after they’ve finished the book.”
— Wall Street Journal
“Hautman has woven a story rich with forest lore and an understanding of the fragility of wild spaces near the city. The ache of loss also permeates this story, for lost friendships and lost wildness, even as the characters look to mend what’s broken.”
— Minneapolist Star-TribuneBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Pete Hautman is the author of many books for young adults and adults, including the National Book Award winner Godless and The Big Crunch, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award. He splits his time between Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Michael Crouch is an actor based in New York City. His audiobook narration has won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, numerous Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine, and Best of the Year accolades from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. He can also be heard on national commercials, cartoons, video games, and the animé series Pokémon XY and Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.