THE ATLAS OF US, by Kristin Dwyer, HarperTeen, Jan. 9, 2024, Hardcover, $19.99 (young adult, ages 14 and up)
A girl is forced to work through her grief while rehabbing trails in the Western Sierras in The Atlas of Us, by Kristin Dwyer.
Atlas has lost her way.
In a last-ditch effort to pull her life together, she’s working on a community service program rehabbing trails in the Western Sierras. The only plus is that the days are so exhausting that Atlas might just be tired enough to forget that this was one of her dad’s favorite places in the world. Before cancer stole him from her life, that is.
Using real names is forbidden on the trail. So, Atlas becomes Maps, and with her team—Books, Sugar, Junior, and King—she heads into the wilderness. As she sheds the lies she’s built up as walls to protect herself, she realizes that four strangers might know her better than anyone has before. And with the end of the trail racing to meet them, Maps is left counting down the days until she returns to her old life—without her new family, and without King, who’s become more than just a friend. —Synopsis provided by HarperTeen
The Atlas of Us is a character study seen through the lens of grief. When Atlas’ dad got sick, she lost her purpose, and after he died, she didn’t see the point of moving forward. Author Kristin Dwyer captures Atlas’ feelings in an almost visceral way. Her pain almost drips off the page, but so, too, do brief moments of joy and refuge.
Each of Dwyer’s characters are flawed and messy. They work through their “stuff” while working on the trail, and in the process become each other’s support system. They genuinely care, and that helps lighten the tone of the overall book.
The Atlas of Us is an emotional read that’s both brutal and beautiful in its honesty.
Sensitivity note: With characters ranging from 17-20, The Atlas of US definitely on the upper YA, new adult spectrum, and should be approached as such. Content includes sex (vague open door), language, drugs and alcohol use.
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