Across The Desert

Juvenile fiction 

     "Mom grabs a small orange bottle from the side table, presses down on the lid angrily, and unscrews it.  The lid slips out of her hands and falls on the worn carpet, but she doesn't seem to notice.  I can't stand to watch as she pops two pills into her mouth and takes a gulp of water from a grimy glass."

     Jolene, protagonist of Dusti Bowling's Across The Desert, and her mother were in a car accident.  Her mom ended up disabled and hooked on oxycodone.  She's been trying desperately to get help for her mother to no avail.  People she reaches out to tell her stuff she already knows or want to speak to an adult.

     Addie is a twelve-year-old pilot.  She uses her ultralight plane to explore the desert.  She livestreams her adventures for her one fan...

     ...guess who...

     ...Addie's flights, which she views on a library computer, are Jolene's way of mentally escaping her difficult home situation.  Then one day Addie's adventure goes horribly wrong.  Her plane crashes.  Addie hears her screaming in pain.

     Jolene tries the conventional ways of getting help for Addie.  The police don't believe her.  Her mother barely slips out of a drugged slumber.

     Jolene, though, is equally frightened of the prospect of someone believing her, a someone who might come to her house.

     "What if they see the pill bottles?  Would they arrest her?  Would I have to go to foster care?  Would I end up there forever this time?"

     Only Addie is out in the desert seriously injured.  Jolene is the only one who knows of her plight.  Leaving a note for her mother, she sets out to rescue her only friend.

     Young readers will love this roller coaster ride of a narrative with a relatable protagonist and information about a crisis that affects the lives of too many kids...

     ...including Bowling.  In her author's note she tells us: "I don't remember a moment in my childhood when my father wasn't on some kind of drug, and his behavior when he was in the throes of his addictions...Let's just say it was not okay."

     Bowling wrote Across The Desert during a very challenging year.  "It was the thought that you, the child living with an addict, would one day read this story that gave me the determination to keep going when at times all I wanted to do was throw my hands up and forget about the world and all my responsibilities.

     So thank you.  I see you."

On a purrrsonal note, Eugene and I went on a nice ride.  It 🌧 on and off, but we got stretches of clear sky.  We saw a gorgeous fox who slowly sauntered down the road instead of darting away, allowing us to admire her.  We also saw an adorable black bear 🐻 cub on the edge of the the forest, so curious about the world, exploring and sniffing everything.  Not much bigger than Tobago.  I'd never before seen a Black bear cub in its natural habitat.  That was such a thrill!  After all, as a student and future alum of UMaine, I'm a member of Black Bear Nation.  (Jules)

I'm not sure adorable would be the word I'd use to describe a Black Bear cub.  Future predator is what comes to mind.  I have no desire to be fast food.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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