Summary

An Oprah Pick of Books behind Summer's Biggest Movies

A Millions.com Pick of 9 Upcoming Book-to-Film Adaptations

An Oregonian Top 10 Northwest Books of the Year

Winner of the 2010 YALSA Alex Award

A Publishers Weekly Pick of Novels on Women in the Wild

Selected for the March 2009 Indie Next List

Leave No Trace, a film adaptation of My Abandonment, directed by Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.

A thirteen-year-old girl and her father live in Forest Park, an enormous nature preserve in Portland, Oregon. They inhabit an elaborate cave shelter, wash in a nearby creek, store perishables at the water’s edge, use a makeshift septic system, tend a garden, even keep a library of sorts. Once a week they go to the city to buy groceries and otherwise merge with the civilized world. But one small mistake allows a backcountry jogger to discover them, which derails their entire existence, ultimately provoking a deeper flight.

Inspired by a true story and told through the startlingly sincere voice of its young narrator, Caroline, My Abandonment is a riveting journey into life at the margins and a mesmerizing tale of survival and hope.

Editorial Reviews

“Tai Sammons’ narration commands attention. Her matter-of-fact recounting of daily events deepens the mystery surrounding the two. In a straightforward, unemotional delivery, Sammons imparts Father’s paranoia, Caroline’s ability to calm him from his helicopter dreams, and her frequently lyrical observations concerning her education, her occasional bouts of loneliness, and their day-to-day survival. Definitely a worthwhile listen.” —AudioFile

“An electrically charged, bone-deep, and tender tale of loss and partial redemption.” —James Ellroy, New York Times bestselling author

“Takes us into the foreign country where those called homeless are at home, the city is wilderness, and the greater wilderness lies beyond. Fascinating and moving.” —Ursula Le Guin, multiple award–winning American novelist

“My Abandonment lingers in the mind, leaving you as haunted as its mesmerizing characters.” —New York Post

“Riveting…an immediate story in all ways…Dead-on, entrancing…Rock so expertly puts us inside this child’s head that it becomes, as good books do, quite memorable.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Does Father know best? His teenage daughter is forced to wonder…Rock has found just the right voice: forthright, with a singular purity. As a result, we care enormously about [Carolina’s] fate…A moving evocation of life on the fringes, sparking many questions about our regulated society.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“The novel has many uneasy moments and allusions to stories left untold in Caroline’s life, but Rock’s insight into his characters’ worries and hopes propels the story to its emotional conclusion. A compelling read; recommended for all fiction collections.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“This is a tale of survival, of love and attachment, of mystery and alienation. It is an utterly entrancing book, a bow to Thoreau and a nod to the detective story. Every step of this narrative…rings true.” —Publishers Weekly

“[A] spare, haunting tale…inspiring us to ponder large questions—what it means to be a responsible parent, and whether, in the modern world, the tension between the urge to live a solitary existence of rugged integrity can be reconciled with the implacable demands of civilization.” —BookPage

“[A] deeply unsettling and finely wrought tale…Rock deftly ratchets up the uncertainties, and the idyllic edges past the unusual toward the unthinkable and the tragic…A haunting story, masterfully told.” —Booklist

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Author Bio: Peter Rock

Peter Rock is the author of four novels, including My Abandonment, which is the basis for a 2018 major motion picture called Leave No Trace. He teaches writing at Reed College and lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Details

Format:	Retail CD	Format:	MP3 CD
Available Formats :	Retail CD, MP3 CD
Category:	Fiction/Literary
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing	Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
CDs:	5	CDs:	1
Runtime:	6.03
ISBN:	9781433264177	ISBN:	9781433264184
Audience:	Adult
Language:	English

My Abandonment

Summary

Summary

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Reviews