Author: J.L. Esplin
Genre: Realistic Fiction; Adventure
Target Ages: 8-14
Prime Audiences: Survivalists; Close Siblings; Diabetics
Publisher: Starscape
Publication Year: 2020
What does it mean to be "Battle Born"? For John Lockwood and his brother Stew, it means surviving a blackout in Nevada while Dad is hundreds of miles away and without any contact with him. It means getting to the Brighton Ranch, 96 miles away, as soon as possible. It means helping strangers you meet along the journey. And it means doing it all with limited supplies after being robbed of almost everything Dad had stored up for such a moment of need.
J.L. Esplin's debut novel 96 Miles is a survival story about family and friendship and going the distance (literally and metaphorically) in the midst of a crisis. John, the elder Lockwood brother and the narrator, must prove himself responsible and capable in leading and taking care of his brother (and others, for that matter), and his struggle is his coming-of-age experience. Told partially in flashback, John and Stew's journey is full of hardships and surprises, and the events that test them truly make the Lockwood brothers and another pair of siblings with them "Battle Born," the motto on the Nevada state flag that hangs in John's bedroom. For readers who like survival stories and for those who like stories about siblings— their close ties, their conflicts with each other, and their triumphs together— 96 Miles is a 272-page adventure that will leave its mark on their own reading journey!
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