Avalanche Hardcover – November 29, 2016

Once you begin reading, you'll be sitting at the edge of your seat. The author does a super job keeping the tension tight and the story line going. I know some people will wonder about a few of the animal scenes, but I live in a wilderness area, and the tenacity and strength of the mountain lion (cougar) in the book is NOT exaggerated. Parents, I would caution that you might want to read the book before your younger teens or preteens do. There are scenes that might not be sexually or socially appropriate for your child, but the book is great.

Read this for fun

Fast paced keep me interested hated to put it down.would recommend it to anyone who likes a clean adventure interesting story line and characters. Action packed belieable adventure.

Stung by yet another snub by his professor father, this time because Dad’s 28 year old girlfriend is having pregnancy issues, Matt is eager to go from Des Moines to Colorado on a school break. Smart and having an eclectic mind, He’s not wise in the ways of survival or girls, two areas where skills will soon have plenty of value.He and his best friend Toby have been invited by Toby’s older brother Sid to join a group of college age kids on a backcountry skiing adventure. It’s an interesting group. In addition to Matt, Toby and Sid, there’s Dylan, wealthy and somewhat reckless, his girlfriend Julie, and Sid’s sibling roommates, Carter and Leah.Matt and Toby aren’t novices, but skiing at 11,000 feet, while going uphill as much as down tests them right from the start. When an avalanche hits, burying Dylan and seriously injuring Sid, everyone’s strength and mental stability are tested. The party must decide who goers for help (there’s no cellphone service at the abandoned cabin where they seek shelter) and who stays with Sid. How that’s decided and what happens to each group make for a fast and tension-filled read.You might criticize some of the decisions made at times, but unless you’ve been in an unpredictable and life-threatening crisis yourself, it’s easy to play armchair quarterback. I really enjoyed the book and think teen adventure junkies will as well. Yes, there’s strong language and drinking, but both are typical of college age characters.

Almost from the first this novel grabs you and doesn't let you go until the final chapter. It is a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish. When the avalanche occurs and Matt is trapped - ugh! Let's just say my claustrophobia kicked into high gear because the author described what he was feeling so intensely that I felt it. I have also read Stranded by Melinda Braun which is another thrill ride. I certainly hope she writes another because these two have been very good!

The book, Avalanche by Melinda Braun is a fictional story about a group of young friends that intend to go on a fun retreat into the Rocky Mountains but it doesn’t turn out the way they planned. Matt is the protagonist and the main character that stays strong throughout the whole adventure and fights to get his friends safely out of the mountains. Mother nature played a role of an antagonist because the weather did not work in their favor and caused many hardships throughout their adventure. After Matt has been having lots of problems with his dad he decides that a weekend in the mountains with his friends would help get his mind off it. They begin to travel through the mountains and go off on the wrong trail, causing them to get caught in an avalanche. The avalanche kills one person and the rest of the group is put in rough conditions to survive much longer. Once they get to an old cabin for shelter they have one severely injured and the rest looking for a way out. Matt and Leah volunteer to go out and try to get a call through for some help. Matt and Leah encounter many challenges on their journey to reach safety. For example they fight through starvation, sleep deprivation, hypothermia, injury from falls down mountains and even attacks from mountain lions. This book kept things interesting and had you on the edge of your seat to see what would happen next, which is why I thought the book was so well written. The author uses great descriptive language so that the reader was able to imagine exactly what was going on.The author had different characters narrate different chapters to be able to read from their point of view. The author has also written Stranded which is a book related to survival as well along with a children's book, Luella. This book was what I expected because I was looking for an adventure book that stayed interesting and this book was exactly that. I really recommend this book if you are into an adventure or survivor plot that is thrilling and slightly violent. This book was a great length that kept the plot always exciting and I think everyone should try this book because I really enjoyed it.