Tracker's Canyon

by Pam Withers

When Tristan’s dad disappears, he puts his tracking skills to the test to find him — but will Tristan’s talents save him if it turns out to be a trap?

Thanks to his dad’s coaching, sixteen-year-old Tristan is one of the best climbers and trackers in his community. He can read footprints and bushes like they’re security-camera footage, and fearlessly descend rock faces and waterfalls. So when his father disappears, leaving his mother too grief-stricken to function, the young canyoneer’s life goes into freefall.

Left in the hands of a well-meaning but incompetent uncle and a space-cadet housekeeper, Tristan finds life a struggle no matter how hard he works. Finding himself near the end of his rope at home, the teen decides to set off into Swallow Canyon in search of his father — only to realize that someone seems to be out to get him. Now the question is who’s stalking whom, and are Tristan’s skills up to the dangerous game playing out in the deep, shadowy ravine?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Adventure, Mystery, Mental Health, Sports, Family

184 pages, ebook

First published July 22, 2017

About the author

Award-winning YA author Pam Withers -- a former outdoor guide, journalist and editor -- has written 21 sports and outdoor adventure books for teens. She has been nominated for three Red Maple Awards and numerous others. Besides her novels, she has written an athlete's biography and Jump-Starting Boys, a book for parents on getting boys to read. Pam lives in Vancouver, Canada, and tours North America extensively.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tristan Gordon did everything with his dad -- hiking, climbing, swimming, tracking -- just about any outdoor adventuring activity they mastered and loved. But, one day eight months ago, his father disappeared in Swallow Canyon. Searches were conducted but no body was ever discovered. The insurance company won't pay out without proof of his father's death, and Tristan's mother sinks deeper and deeper into depression and mental illness. Depending on the generosity of an uncle to keep them afloat, Tristan juggles school and trying to help his mother. He resents the presence of their new age obsessed housekeeper, who also is the caregiver for his mother while he's at school. He wishes the money his uncle spends on her salary could be used for groceries and more important things than the weird spiritual mumbo-jumbo she uses to calm his mother.

Tristan feels called to track his father in Swallow Canyon to find out what happened. But he knows that just the mention of him going climbing into a canyon will be enough to tip his mother over the edge.

After months of avoiding canyoneering, Tristan gets invited on a trip down into the upper portion of Swallow Canyon. The group is being led by a 19 year old girl, the new guide for a local adventuring company. He enjoys his day out, but wonders why he was invited on the trip.

The housekeeper, Elspeth, keeps telling him that he needs to go down into the canyon and retrieve something, anything that belonged to his father. She says a token from his dad is all it will take to bring his mom out of the fog and back into living. As they run out of money and other options, Tristan realizes that he needs to venture into Swallow Canyon to find answers about what happened to his father. But what will he find? And will it really help his mom?

This book is a quick, exciting read! Perfect for middle-grade to adult readers. There is a little bit of language, but nothing that bad. Nothing any teenager wouldn't say in the same situation. The adventuring, canyoneering theme is really interesting and suspenseful. The plot also delves into the confusion and life-altering effects of mental illness, grief and loss. Tristan is just a kid, but he's dealing with so much trying to keep his mother going while worrying about buying groceries and keeping their family going. It's an adventure story and a coming of age tale.

A lovely book! I got pulled into the story quickly and didn't want to stop reading! The story is well written, moves along at a perfect pace and has enough suspense to hold a reader's interest.

Great book for kids and adults alike (I'm nearly 50 years old and I loved the story!), especially those who like the outdoors and adventuring! It really made me want to put on my hiking books and hit the trails here in western NC!

Pam Withers has written 18 adventuring books for young readers. She lives in Vancouver. For more information on the author and her other books, check out her website: http://www.pamwithers.com/pw/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Dundurn Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

[Zippity do Dah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite like this type of adventure/survival book. I’m going to try reading more of them. I found parts if this book slightly repetitious, but I started to understand the characters more near the end. The setting was done really powerfully. I could clearly imagine it even though I’ve never been there.

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tracker's Canyon is nail biting from the start. From the beginning the reader is kept in suspense and wondering who it is who wants to harm Tristan. All the characters are suspect and every situation is viewed woth suspicion.

It is a white knuckle ride as the group descends into the canyon, and the reader is left wondering if anybody will make it out alive.

Highly recommended to everyone who loves a fast paced action thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC to read and review.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is told from 16 year old Tristan's point of view and the first half of the book introduces us to what is going on in his life and what happened to his father. We also meet his mother, who is still very grief stricken even after so many months and his uncle. The second half of the book follows Tristan as he heads back out to Swallow Canyon in an attempt to figure out what happened to his father, using the tracking and climbing skills he has acquired. The first half of the book was a bit slow for me, but I really enjoyed the second half. I really enjoy wilderness survival type books and I have to say I have to found many of them in the fiction genre. Without giving away any spoilers, Tristan does find out what happened to his father towards the end of the book. This was a quick read and I really enjoyed the action filled adventuring into the wilderness in the second half of the book. Although a bit slow in the beginning, the plot moves along pretty quickly after that and the author provides with a lot of detail in the second half as Tristan is hiking and climbing through the canyon. Overall, it was fun and easy read.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC.

[Julie Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Tracker's Canyon as a publisher's ARC.
A great book for YA readers — tension crackles on every page, Excitement builds throughout. Characters are well defined. Plot twists and turns. And, in the end, the hero solves the puzzle and survives.
Recommended.

[Margaret Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhilarating wilderness survival novel.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great teen adventure novel with some nice twists. A quick but engrossing read. Another solid Red Maple nomination.

[Thebooktrail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visit the book locations Canada- British Columbia



I’m not the age group for this novel I suppose but it reminded me of the novels I used to read as a young girl wanting to be in the cubs instead of the brownies. Adventure trails, getting lost in the woods and finding your way home, pretending your toy walkie talkie is the real deal...

Even as an adult, this novel reminded me of my time trekking through the grand Canyon - the boats I wore, the hat, the sense of adventure...yup this novel had this and more and I can see a definite appeal for the YA market or for people like me who love a good adventure novel, getting lost in the wilderness kind of place.

The story of young Tristan going in search of his father was quite heartwarming and it opens up a lot for people both kids and adults to think about in terms of grief and loss - I would be keen to read another of Pam’s books. Best get those hiking boots at the ready!

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tracker’s Canyon was a great adventure story for many students. The book is well written and keeps the reader’s attention as the stakes become higher for Tristan. The book is based on a sport called canyoneering; something I have never heard about.

Tristan is 16 years old. His father who disappeared in Swallow’s Canyon was never found and presumed dead. His mother is a mess, his uncle tries to help, but things just seem to keep getting worse. Tristan’s father taught him all about tracking and canyoneering, but taking care of his mother and no money meant he was trapped at home. When an opportunity comes up to go into Swallow’s Canyon, he jumps on it. Not everything is what it seems and Tristan needs to use all of his skills to survive and find out what happened with his father.

Tracker’s Canyon is an excellent adventure story and a great read!

[Anna Chang 8E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it because it was very interesting. It was very interesting because it was like when you first start reading, you can't stop. The book has lots of cliff hangers. When you first stop reading, you just really want to know what happens next. I rated it 5 out of 5 because it was such a good book. Also, I wold recommend it to others.

[Kira Pye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great book, it was interesting, funny, and there was a little adventure.!

[Mikayla Bellamy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book for the Red Maple award and I did not like it. I found it non entertaining and some parts of this book were very boring. I didn't like the character development on Bridget and the story line was generic, I've read around the same story line in a million other books. I do not recommend.

[Katerina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So interesting and suspenseful! I was so absorbed into the story and was pulled in by all the twists and turns in the story!

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Tristan's dad disappears while canyoneering. His mother is bed stricken, depressed, grieving, and hasn't worked for weeks. With the money tin empty and Tristan's dads shop not bringing in money with his disappearance. There is lots of pressure on Tristan to finish school, work at the store, keep up with the chores at home, and cook daily at. When Brigit, a worker at the competing canyoneering shop, asks him to go on a canyoneering trip with her, Tristan is starting to think maybe staying at home to do endless chores was a better option.

[Naeem Baig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book full of interesting plot twists. If your interested in canyoneering this is the book for you.

[Brian13 · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow, it went from a not-so-normal life of a single parent child into some dark gloomy, and revenge filled mystery novel. Although overall it was interesting and a breath-taking book.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting adventure with allll the canyon(eer)ing details one could want and a bonus unexpected Canadian setting, British Columbia to be precise. It's fast-paced and certainly does its job of appealing to young male readers who want to move beyond children's books but might be more reluctant to pick up a heftier YA novel and/or one with romance. Tristan might be sixteen on paper, but he reads younger, more like 13 or 14.

While I'm sure this is by design due to the above, I couldn't help wishing it was just a bit longer, to give us some time to get our feet under us. We get tossed into his life where he's apparently The Man of the House and has to do everything that his mom now isn't for some reason, and I kept waiting for a flashback chapter or two to orient us, but it never came, leaving me with so many questions that it was distracting.

-What was his dad like before he disappeared? Other than fleeting mentions of building things together and other hints at a good relationship, we don't know much, so it's impossible to form any theories about what happened when he went missing, why he went into the canyon alone, etc.

-Why did his mom immediately take to bed for months? And seriously, she ACTUALLY just quit her job and laid around in bed, expecting the remaining men in her life (one of whom is her 16-year-old son) to take care of everything?? I don't understand how the last eight months actually...went.

-Where did his uncle find this pricey "caretaker" who is apparently "helping her so much" that he couldn't possibly let her go or even cut back on her hours, yet seems to specialize entirely in mystic woo-woo and not actually managing to get his mom out of bed? In fact, why exactly CAN'T his mom be left alone if she's not doing a damn thing? (Risk of suicide? Because if so we should spell that out. Another place where a flashback might be helpful.)

HOWEVER, I'm still giving it 4 stars just because I really did enjoy reading all the nature details, the challenges of navigating through a canyon that I've pretty much only seen on The Amazing Race, and the thrill of wondering exactly how insane Mood Swing Brigit might prove to be. It also took some twists I actually didn't expect.

(first making me genuinely believe that his dad was cheating on his mom, and then the reveal of the letter about how he definitely was NOT cheating even though he can see how it must look that way, he was just trying to secretly find gold with this geologist and they were going to surprise their families with riches once they did. Except he got badly injured along the way...and we as readers know that she drowned while trying to go alone for help.

Also, honestly, kind of surprised me that while it's obvious the dad died of hypothermia, either lost in the bush or falling into the river again while trying to drag himself somewhere more visible to searchers, no trace of his body is actually recovered.)

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tristan is having a rough time of it since his dad disappeared while canyoneering. His mom is a mess and hardly leaves her bed, his uncle is trying to help out financially, but things are really tight. And Tristan is starting to worry he may have to drop out of high school and get a job so he and his mom can survive. The fact that his dad disappeared and no body was recovered has made things even more difficult. He was an expert and taught Tristan everything he knows about canyoneering and tracking. Tristan has been so busy he hasn't had much time to do the sport his dad taught him to love. The lady helping care for his mom and others are pushing him to go into the canyon and get some closure, so he agrees to go. But someone definitely doesn't want him there. And this may be the most dangerous trip of Tristan's life.

The mystery/thriller aspect of this creeps up and pounces kind of out of nowhere. For the first few chapters it is just about Tristan trying to survive in the aftermath of his dad's disappearance. And then he goes on an innocent little canyoneering trip and things start to get weird. The resolution in this and how that tied in with mental health aspects felt a bit oversimplified/too fairytale endingish. I'm not sure how this would go over with those who know people who really struggle with similar issues. The canyoneering aspects and the tracking parts are super detailed and definitely make you feel like you are experiencing it alongside someone doing it. But at times I wish I had less climbing info and more of the mystery foreshadowed/built up. Those who love canyoneering may absolutely love it because of all the details. I will say it is only the 2nd book I've read that includes that sport, and only one in YA, so it is pretty unique in that aspect. It was a decent story, and the ending of the mystery managed to pleasantly surprise me. I just felt like it could've been executed a teensy bit better. It's only a 2.5 stars in my opinion. But those who like contemporary stories about teens facing tough stuff and doing outdoors activities and quick mystery/thrillers may like it.

Notes on content: About 20 mild to moderate swears (part of this is due to the fact that a four letter word that Americans consider a swear word is not considered bad in parts of Canada). No sexual content beyond a little kiss. Past deaths are mentioned but not described. Two non-gory murder attempts. Mental health issues are integral to the story.

[Elite Group · Rating 3 out of 5]

Canyoneering is not a sport for the fainthearted

Tristan Gordon’s father has been missing since he went canyoneering alone. However, could he have been in the canyon with the woman whose body was discovered days later in the same stretch of river where the search party thought they should have found him?

Tristan is determined to discover what happened on that ill-fated trip that his dad, seemingly took alone. When he’s invited to join Brigit Dowling, the daughter of the woman who drowned, he feels he must take the chance to see if he can find out what happened to his father, someone who was very experienced in the sport. Little does he realise that he might be the canyon’s next victim.

An interesting storyline with Tristan using all the training his father had taught him from a very young age. Unfortunately, Tristan was the only character with whom I felt a connection.

Pam Withers certainly did her research on canyoneering. In fact, she has managed to convince me that if I were younger, fitter and still wanting an adrenaline rush, I’d be taking up this sport.

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

[Darlene Otet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. Very good book. Geared toward a younger age group it is very easy to read and has awesome description of activities that I did not know too much about - canyoneering, rock climbing, rapelling and tracking. Great story of a teenage boy struggling with the loss of his father and also caring for a mother who is suffering from depression. He gets the opportunity to go in search of something that will provide closure for his mother, and that is when the adventure begins. As his mother's illness worsens, should he abandon the quest for closure? When friends turn against him will he even survive the journey? A great teen adventure story.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 2019 Red Maple nominee, this book did a good job of getting me outside and into the canyons with Tristan. Withers does a good job of laying out cues to get the reader thinking and this helps build the tension as the characters move along through their adventure. Like all of her books, a sport is the base for exploring other themes, in this case, mental health, as several characters deal with grief in different ways.

I liked this book, as I have enjoyed all of Pam Withers books. Her passion for the outdoors is infectious. Will that be enough to catapult her to winning this year? We'll have to wait a few months to see.

[Mrs. Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me quite tense and made for an interesting thriller. It begins a bit slow and the main character is who you focus on the most so don't expect lots of character development but his experiences are interesting. I really enjoyed learning more about canyoneering and the wilderness of BC. I enjoy books that educate you with a great storyline which is this book.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was extremely disappointed with the conclusion of this novel. Suggesting that people with mental health issues are capable of plotting elaborate schemes of revenge and murder but are all better now that they’re back on their meds is not a message I want readers in my library to take away.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 stars.. Review to come

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was good. Plot kept moving with one danger after another. Surprises, too!

[Thalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book! I suspected Alex and Elspeth as the people behind Julian's 'death' and I thought that he was secretly alive. How tragic. I wish they had searched for his remains at least.

[nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was...underwhelming, and quite boring to be frank. It was supposed to be a survivalist story, but I couldn't get through the pages; the writing was so dull.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it would be more of a cat and mouse case from my predictions from the back summery, but I was disappointed that it wasn't what I thought. Still a good casual read though.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Vary boring at some points

[Raveena S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was honestly just really boring. It's short, but it still took me forever to read through that, and I read fast.