Take

In this genre-blending adventure, Bradbury (A Moment Comes) injects a high-stakes mystery with adrenaline. Recent high school graduate Cara plans to spend her summer working various odd jobs, rock climbing, and gearing up for her gap year traipsing through Patagonia. When Nat, her ex-boyfriend and fellow rock-climbing enthusiast, reappears in town, however, it sends her into an emotional spiral. She does her best to avoid Nat, until her depressed father—whom she hasn’t spoken to in months—disappears. He leaves behind a trailer filled with clues in the form of old photographs, annotated maps, Beckett Friedrich climbing guides, and coded notes that Cara’s convinced only history-loving Friedrich superfan Nat can unravel. Her father’s trail leads the teens into the Cascade Mountains, where they face strenuous challenges, learn more about Cara’s family’s past, and find their way back to each other. Bradbury interweaves Cara’s urgent first-person narration with brief diary entries by an adventurer from the 1940s, which tell a parallel story of young love hampered by racism during WWII. Cara’s tenacity and grit make her a heroine to root for, and her determination to find her father no matter the cost conveys a complex, heartfelt relationship. Cara is white and of Japanese ancestry; Nat cues as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (June)