Escape from the wildfire

Gr 5--8--After a prologue where ninth grader Jack barely escapes from his burning home and a brief chapter set three weeks later, readers settle into a steady tick-tock beginning almost four months before a devastating wildfire in small-town Lytton, British Columbia. Jack lives with his schoolteacher mom and a dad who is often traveling for his job coordinating wildfire response. Big sister Quinn is away training as a tree planter. Only a day after Mom leaves for an extended family visit in faraway Victoria, with Jack remaining home alone with support from neighbor Glenda, a growing wildfire rips into Lytton, beginning to consume Jack's house even while he's playing video games with a friend in the basement. The remainder of the story details their time in an emergency shelter and a tentative return to normal. The events surrounding the actual fire and escape take up only a fraction of the story and details are scant. Written at a fourth grade reading level, the book includes a list of discussion questions as well as recommended resources for further study in subjects such as climate and biodiversity. At times didactic and often bogged down with unimportant details, reading will be slow going for reluctant readers. VERDICT A secondary selection where climate fiction is popular.

This fact-based novel brings to life the 2021 wildfire that devastated Lytton, British Columbia. With his sister away planting trees and their dad helping fight wildfires up north, Jack, 14, plans to spend the summer biking, working at the pool, gaming with friends, and pursuing his crush, who founded a biodiversity club. There's not much to do in tiny Lytton, but it's home: The scenic wilderness surrounding it has miles of biking trails and a terrific swimming hole. Life feels normal, yet Jack's world is changing. His mom's away in Victoria when the sweltering, tinder-dry village erupts in a fiery inferno, leaving Lytton a burned-out ruin. Accommodated in a nearby town, the residents take stock. Fire has consumed the Chinese History Museum that honored the laborers--including one of Jack's great-grandfathers (the rest of his family is implied White)--who built railroads through B.C.'s steep mountains but were erased from history. His friend Rory's First Nations community, whose land Lytton occupies, has suffered significant losses. The townspeople scatter--some never to return, moving in with relatives or starting over elsewhere. Itemizing his lost items for insurance purposes, Jack ponders intangible losses like community and safety and contemplates how to restore them. Surviving Alberta's devastating 2016 House River Wildfire has given Bentley deep insights into her subject. Straightforward characterization and understated narration make this a strong choice for reluctant readers. The finely detailed plot unwinds slowly, but make no mistake--it's a page-turner. (author's note, study questions, resources) (Fiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.