Echo Mountain

Echo Mountain

By: Lauren Wolk

Book Quote:

"Like my father, I loved the woods.
From the start, the two of us were happy with our unmapped lives."

Library Cat Rating:  😻 😻 😻 😻 

Review:
     Ellie's mother and father moved their family to the mountains when the Great Depression made it impossible for them to keep their home in town.  Although the mountain is wild and unknown, Ellie finds herself thriving in the new environment.  She even has a secret friend who leaves small woodcarvings as gifts.  Things are harder though after Ellie's father is struck by a tree and falls into a coma.  Ellie shoulders the unfair blame that is heaped upon her by her sister following the accident.  As the blame pulls her sister and mother farther away from her and the family struggles to survive, Ellie feels that only by waking her father will her family have a chance to mend.  With pluck and determination Ellie will take readers on her journey to learn the secrets of the mountain, befriend her mysterious gift giver, and bring her family back together.

    VERDICT is this is a beautifully written book with a lot to offer young readers, caregivers, and teachers alike.  Lauren Wolk weaves a tale of survival that entails shouldering responsibility and doing your best in seemingly impossible situations.  This is a historical fiction novel that I think will not only shed light on the Great Depression era but speak directly to many young people now who, like the protagonist Ellie, are also living in their own unprecedented time and having to forage onward with a new social consciousness and responsibilities.  

Citation:

Wolk, Lauren. (21 April 2020).  Echo Mountain. New York, NY: Dutton Books for Young Readers.  

**I read an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book.**

Annotation:
Ellie's family has recently relocated to Echo Mountain after losing nearly everything due to the Great Depression. Ellie loves the mountain and all of its possibilities. Things become complicated when her father falls into a coma after being struck by a tree.  Ellie's determination to wake her father only grows as the weeks turn into months, but it is only through getting to know herself and the mountain more closely that she can hope to save her family.  

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Extras:

To learn more about the author and book, visit Lauren Wolk's website here.