When a sheltered city girl ends up in a forest fire camp where things are more than a little hinky, she’s going to have a very eye-opening summer…
Smokescreen, by Nancy Hartry
Tundra Books, ISBN: 978 1 77049 405 3
Kerry’s summer job in cottage development up north turns out totally different than expected, and once a forest fire starts to spread, things get even wilder as she and her partner Yvette are reassigned to kitchen duty for the firefighters in the middle of the bush. With a horrible boss, no conveniences, a crew of rough-living men, and some very suspicious stuff going on around them, the tension is high for the girls, as they struggle through hard work and worries, and start trying to solve some of the puzzles themselves.
Soon, they aren’t sure who to trust, and have blundered into more than they bargained for. In the end, they learn that many people were not what they seemed, but come out of it stronger, firmly bonded, and surprisingly, not ready to leave Northern Ontario just yet.
This is a book with a few twists and turns in its plot, though many are well-hinted-at, and with a good dose of coming-of-age, as the girls both find more strength than they knew they had during the course of this first summer away from home. It’s a fast-paced read with girl protagonists, which is a nice thing to find, and even if this book is not truly groundbreaking, it’s still a fun action novel aimed at girls, which is rare enough to be notable.
Also available as an ebook.
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