“Across the Desert” by Dusti Bowling.
Little Brown and Company, New York, 2021, 305 pages, Grades 5-7.
Twelve-year-old Jolene is in a very difficult position. After she and her mother are in a serious car wreck, her mother becomes addicted to pain pills.
Because she has so little control over her life, Jolene goes to the public library and dreams of adventures that will take her from her painful world. Using the online services at the library, she meets another girl named Addie Earhart. They become friends through these online visits and Jolene watches Addie fly her ultralight airplane through video streaming.
All is well until it isn’t. While Jolene is watching in the public library terminal, Addie crashes her lightweight plane in the desert, near the dried-up Alamo Lake. There in the scorching desert, the badly injured Addie lies under her broken plane. Jolene frantically decides to find Addie.
Dusti Bowling writes a compelling account of Jolene’s desperate search for her friend and for the healing her mother needs to overcome her addiction. The name of this gripping novel is “Across the Desert.”
Jolene carefully draws out maps of the Arizona desert as she follows Addie’s various flights near Alamo Lake. She is stunned when she watches Addie crash her ultralight plane. Addie frantically calls Jolene as her plane spins out of control and crashes. Then Addie’s phone goes dead and Jolene does not know what has happened.
The girl goes back to her apartment and unsuccessfully tries to rouse her dazed mother. Realizing she is on her own, Jolene takes her mother’s phone and credit card. She leaves her a note explaining that she is leaving to help a friend in need, and heads for the Greyhound Bus Station to begin the rescue.
Fortunately, she meets another girl, Marty, who helps her. They travel to a nearby town and then Jolene heads out into the desert alone—not a smart idea. Lucky for her, Marty borrows her grandpa’s car and follows her. But eventually there is no gas for the car, and no way to find Addie but through a trek in the desert. Jolene is frightened, but with Marty’s help, begins to face her fears and the problems her mother is suffering from. How do the girls do it?
This novel has two related but separate themes. The first is how can one find an injured girl in a desert, using a hand-drawn map? The second is how Jolene and Marty must face the terrible pain that opioid addiction has caused in their lives. Jolene learns that Marty’s sister died from an opioid overdose. Because of her terrible loss, Marty can guess why Jolene is so hesitant to talk about her mother’s problems. During their trying attempt to rescue Addie, they find out the consequences of lying to others and to themselves.
When they finally find Addie, they must somehow carry the injured girl through miles of sweltering desert. Both girls must dig deep inside themselves to get the courage to struggle through the brutal heat to save the badly injured Addie.
Later, they and their families must face the brutal truth about the personal costs of opioid addiction. The two themes will unite in a painful, but rewarding climax at the end of the novel.
“Across the Desert” by Dusti Bowling will grip the imaginations of middle school readers. This is an exciting adventure story as well as a tale of healing and the power of love. I hope you encourage your middle school students to read this fine novel.
