Things have been strange for Jamie Park since the death of his mother a few months ago. He doesn’t fit in at school, and it is difficult to talk to his father, a well-known Korean scientist. Now things are getting stranger: His aunt Louise has written him a letter. The trouble is, he never knew he had an aunt, let alone an aunt Louise. But when she shows up at the door and invites him to leave Seattle and spend the summer with her, he impulsively accepts.
Her isolated cabin, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, lacks both electricity and running water. But Jamie soon learns to appreciate the near-wild existence he shares with his unusual aunt. He spends his mornings gathering food and chopping wood and his afternoons running. His happy routine is disturbed, however, by the unexpected arrival of two strangers, the shadowy presence of wolves, and the disappearance of Louise. A finely carved bone flute that she has taught him to play seems to be the key to these strange occurrences. Gradually he realizes that there is a purpose to his visit, and as he exposes the truth, Jamie risks his own safety and faces a life-transforming decision.
In an extraordinary debut novel, Catherine Creedon skillfully blends a touching coming-of-age story with the wonders of a natural world filled with inexplicable mystery.
