Disaster Trail

by Katy Grant

Oliver loves mountain biking on rocky, wooded trails. And he has an unlikely partner--his much older half sister Morgan. One summer evening while out with their dog Digby, Oliver tries to impress Morgan by leading her down a new trail he claims to know. They end up at the bottom of a canyon with no choice but to push their bikes up the steep trail. Then disaster strikes. Morgan slips and badly injures her ankle. With no cell service, it's up to Oliver to hike out and get help. But daylight is fading fast, and danger waits in the wilderness.

147 pages, Paperback

Published August 16, 2023

About the author

Katy Grant grew up in Tennessee and decided at age eight she wanted to be a writer after reading a biography of Louisa May Alcott. (But for some strange reason she never got around to reading Little Women until she was an adult.) For many years she taught composition and creative writing courses at university and community colleges. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband Eric and enjoys spending time with her two adult sons.

Reviews

[Joey Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Rosen Publishing/ West 44 Books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Oliver and his sister Morgan love going on bike trail rides, he loves seeking them out finding new ones to explore together. Then he chooses one that lead somewhere dangerous and Morgan gets hurt.

Love this verse style of book it’s so unique and really fun to read, it’s amazing that a story can be told in so much detail but in short verses I seriously love reading this style of book. It’s so gripping and exciting.

I really liked Oliver’s relationship with Morgan, she was a great big sister always bringing out the best in him and making him feel good about himself too. Even when thing go wrong and she’s hurt she still believes in him and it was so sweet.

I loved how strong and brave Oliver was the whole time, he had to go through so much and it was pretty scary for him, but he remained calm, thought carefully about what he was doing and safely got through everything. He was a really amazing protagonist and accomplished so much.

I really enjoyed this book, I did expect that it was going to be a little scarier than it was. I still really enjoyed it and I really loved the style of it, it’s such a great read I do recommend it, it’s so easy to get stuck into it.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always said these 'novels in verse form' for kids are just short stories padded out to full book length, and this is definitely evidence of that. It's the story of a young kid and his much older half-sister, going mountain-biking one day and coming a cropper. But the lad is forced to get over a whole mountain of hang-ups about if he's stupid, ignorant, cowardly, whatever, in order to save the day. Now the point of the book could have been why those were there in the first place – I doubt many people kvetch so much about needing to feel courageous. Things aren't helped by him yes, being brave, but also doing stupid things and realising things really quite late as well, anyway – so while (spoiler alert) there is a happy ending you can't be convinced he's that great.

Still, it's a reasonable read, if you like short stories with al fresco action. It's good that there's representation for kids getting along fine with their adult half-siblings, and many young readers will recognise the hero's sticking point, of having had his Bar Mitzvah and needing to think and prove himself an adult all of a sudden. But the lad having unrealistic and overly-large issues really needed an explanation, just as much as we needed the action.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Rosen Publishing Group, West 44 Books, and Katy Grant for the opportunity to read Disaster Trail in exchange for an honest review.

This book is written as a HiLo novel-in-verse for a middle grade audience. After reading one of her other novels-in-verse, Three Shots, I was swept away by Katy Grant's style and found myself excited and invested in more from her.

Oliver loves mountain biking and he loves hanging out with his half sister, Morgan. When he finds a new trail to bike, he is excited to show Morgan and bring their dog, Digby, along for the ride. As the title hints, disaster strikes when they accidentally bike their way into a canyon and find it hard to get out.

Upon trying to get back to the main trail, Morgan slips and hurts her ankle. It's up to Oliver, accompanied by Digby, to make his way to a clearing to get a cell signal to call 911 and their dad. Oliver must find responsibility in a tough situation and learn from the experience.

An excellent joy of a read. Great for a middle grade audience with lessons about risk and responsibility.