A Constellation of Minor Bears
by Jen Ferguson
High School    Heartdrum/HarperCollins    352 pp.
9/24    9780063334229    $19.99
e-book ed.  9780063334243    $10.99

Molly, her brother Hank, and Tray have been best friends since middle school, but a lot has changed. Hank now has a traumatic brain injury from a climbing accident. Tray was there when it happened, and Molly holds him responsible. The three had planned a hike across the Pacific Crest Trail to celebrate their high school graduation, and even though Hank isn’t graduating, he eventually agrees to come too. As the teens hike along the difficult trail, they must deal with the intense feelings that each has been holding onto since Hank’s accident. With the aid of new friends they meet along the way—including Brynn, whom they help escape an abusive situation—the friends slowly open up to one another. The story touches on ableism, fatphobia (affecting Molly and Brynn), and anti-Indigenous thoughts and actions (Molly and Tray are Métis and white, like author Ferguson). Through the alternating voices of Molly and Tray and through Hank’s past and present social media posts, Ferguson (The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, rev. 5/22) has again created well-characterized teenage protagonists grappling with difficult issues. An engrossing, introspective tale of a trek and of teen relationships.

From the ">November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.