SOLE SURVIVOR, by Norman Ollestad, Brendan Kiely, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), Oct. 28, 2025, Hardcover, $19.99 (ages 10 and up)
In Sole Survivor, Norman Ollestad tells the story of how as a sixth-grader he survived a deadly mountainside plane crash during a snowstorm.
Eleven-year-old Norman Ollestad is no stranger to extreme situations. Whether it’s surfing big swells off Topanga Beach or skiing in a blizzard, he has braved one adrenaline-rush adventure after another, pushed by his thrill-seeking father to realize that “anything’s possible.” And with Dad by his side, sometimes Norman believes him.
That motto is put to the ultimate test when the small plane Norman and his dad are aboard is engulfed by a snowstorm and crashes in the San Gabriel Mountains―with deadly consequences. Struggling in and out of lucidity, haunted by the voices and memories from difficult moments in his past, Norman must decide what to do while trapped eight thousand feet above sea level, facing dangers unlike any he has encountered before. —Synopsis provided by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Sole Survivor follows the true childhood experience of author Norman Ollestad. Ollestad and co-author Brendan Kiely transport readers to thrilling locals — the edge of a mountainside in freezing conditions and the Pacific shore catching the perfect waves.
Sole Survivor is as much about the act of survival as it is a self-reflection and the curious dynamics of family.
The story is told from Norman’s point of view and bounces back to memories that help shape his actions on the mountainside.
Ollestad and Kiely write with immediacy. You feel every second alongside Norman as he faces challenges most adults would balk at. It’s intense. It’s raw. It’s real. The tension is palpable.
From beginning to end, Sole Survivor will hold you captive. This thrilling story has broad appeal, but fans of the I Survived or Survivor Diaries will especially be tempted.
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