Very moving. I cried and almost flipped out when I thought the dog was going to die.

Veers between thriller (falling into crevasse, getting beat up, almost drowning in a river) and emotional gut wrencher (cancer battle, suicidal thoughts, losing best friend).

Oy, this book. I loved it and was angry at it at the same time. More precisely, I was angry at everything the dog was put through. ( )

Representation: Biracial main character
Trigger warnings: Near-death experiences, hypothermia, physical assault and injury, blood depiction, divorce
Score: Six points out of ten.
This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

I wanted to read this book for so long and when one of the two libraries I regularly go to placed this novel on the display shelf I picked it up and finally read it. When I finished it I had what I would best describe as mixed thoughts because on one hand I enjoyed the storyline but on the other hand there were significant flaws and even plot holes I struggled to comprehend. It starts with the main character Mark whose last name I don't know and here's the plot twist which would've been more impactful if the blurb didn't spoil it. You know what? I'll give it to you. He has cancer. There. Now with that out of the way Mark is about to board a train to escape all the doctors and hospitals when he smashes his watch (Ridiculous, how is he supposed to know the time now?) then he arrives at some unknown town. There is another significant POV from another character, Jess who is at home and even the narrator has their POV as they describe Mark's life up until that point, it looks typical until it mentioned doctors and tests and other miscellanies which concerned me but I wasn't surprised. Mark then thinks about climbing the mountain even if that is the last experience he does before he dies, did I mention he was assaulted and if Beau the dog wasn't there to save him he would've died right then and there? That was dark. Mark climbs the mountain almost succumbing to its natural dangers marking (ha!) the second near-death experience he lived through before a helicopter saved him and that was the end. Wow. ( )

Mark has cancer, and is likely dying of it. But a few years earlier, he promised his grandfather on his deathbed that he would climb Mount Ranier in Washington - something his grandfather had promised to do with Mark someday. So Mark decides that since he's dying anyway, he's going to at least keep his promise to his grandfather and climb Mount Ranier. So her runs away, with only a brief note left for his parents and his best friend in the world, Jessie. He takes with him the things he thinks he'll need to get there, and his beloved dog, Beau.
Suffice to say, nothing goes his way. Nearly every step of the way, things are going wrong. Nothing is going right for his parents, who have no idea where he is. Nothing is going right for Jessie, who DOES know where he's gone, and is torn between keeping her promise to him to always keep his secrets, and telling people so someone can go save him.
For a middle-grades novel, this one has some serious subject matter; a lot of food for thought. ( )

Well, damn, this one packs an emotional punch along the lines of The Fault in Our Stars -- and not, honestly, because they both have narrators with cancer, but because they both have main characters who burn so brightly with life and stubbornness. Maybe it is related, but anyway. I see why all the kids are talking. I knew if I finished this on the bus I would be sobbing in public and I did not care. It's that good.

Boy, I really am no good at selling this. let me try again. A compelling read, a storyline that sucks you in immediately and won't let go. Deep emotional connections (in a good way) and adventure, adventure, adventure. Oh, and a dog. A really great dog. ( )