10 hours to go

Three former friends become one another's only means of survival in this gripping environmental thriller from Parrack (Don't Let in the Cold). Teenage Lily Williams is wrapping up a visit to Oak Canyon College in Portland, Ore., when her train trip home to California is canceled because of a nearby forest fire. So, Lily's mother organizes for Lily's former best friend Natasha, whom she's barely spoken to since eighth grade, to pick Lily up on her own way home. Lily expects that the drive will be fraught; what she doesn't expect is for Natasha to also pick up Elke, another former friend whom Lily got expelled in middle school. What Lily thinks of as the "road trip from hell" quickly spirals further as fire-related delays lengthen the already 10-hour journey. Hoping to circumvent traffic, Natasha makes a detour. But things go wrong, slowing and then completely stopping their progress as the forest fire spreads down the coast. By gradually unveiling details about the trio's tumultuous eighth grade year throughout the tense present-day narrative, Parrack heats up the suspense, skillfully balancing nail-biting survival sequences with angsty character interactions that will have readers hooked. Lily is white, Natasha has tanned skin, and Elke has light-brown skin. Ages 14--up. Agent: Tara Gonzalez, Erin Murphy Literary. (Feb.)

A long drive home goes drastically wrong in this dramatic survival novel. After a visit to her Oregon dream college, California senior Lily finds her return travel plans derailed by a wildfire. Enter erstwhile best friend Natasha, who just happens to be in Portland; through the girls' moms, she knows Lily needs a ride. The small talk is tense but tolerable--until Natasha unexpectedly picks up Elke in Eugene. Elke was expelled from middle school thanks to Lily, which led to the rift in Lily's relationship with Natasha. Even with the wildfire encroaching, Natasha and Elke insist on stopping for doughnuts. When Natasha hits a motorcycle in the parking lot and they drive off, the enraged biker pursues them deep into the forest. Readers learn this was all a ploy by Natasha and Elke to scare Lily (the motorcyclist is in on it): payback for what happened in eighth grade. But the wildfire is tearing through the forest, setting the teens up for a night that will test their mettle, force them to rely on each other, and perhaps even rebuild their old bonds. The monster here is an increasingly common environmental threat. The breathless writing, with most chapters ending in cliffhangers, feels appropriate, creating a sense that the air has been sucked from the room. The peril the teens endure makes the saccharine ending a cleansing sigh of relief. Main characters read white. No slow burn here--this extreme homeward-bound tale thrills. (Thriller. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.