The Fear Place Book

For Doug's brother, Gordie, the ridge with its spectacular view is a magical, special place, but for Doug, it's The Fear Place. Two years ago, Doug hiked to the ridge during his family's annual camping trip, and he vowed never again to cross the narrow ledge from which the earth dropped away six hundred feet to the canyon below.

But now the boys' parents have been called from their vacation by a family emergency, and Doug and Gordie are alone in the wilderness. After one of their seemingly endless fights, Gordie has stomped away from their campsite. When Girdle doesn't return, Doug fears the worst, particularly when he hears reports that a cougar has been sighted nearby. Doug knows he has to go after his brother, and he knows where he will find him. What he can't imagine is the surprising source of the courage to overcome his fears.

Publishers Weekly

For 12-year-old Doug, a two-foot-wide ledge on a Colorado mountainside has been the ``fear place'' ever since he became paralyzed with fright while trying to cross it two years ago, on one of the family's annual camping trips. His brother Gordon, who is 18 months older, goads him constantly, trying to make him admit that he's scared. Their arguments come to a boil when a family emergency forces their parents to leave the boys at the campsite. The ``fear place,'' together with a stalking cougar, plays its expected part in the climax as the brothers find that they must work together to survive. Newbery Medalist Reynolds (Shiloh) presents a solid action story, tense and involving although it does play out somewhat predictably. The family dynamic is unusual-a tough-minded Cuban refugee father, a mother whose competitiveness with her own siblings borders on the dysfunctional. And the novelist offers an unexpected dividend in her thoughtful portrait of Doug, who is realistic about his shortcomings even as he works to overcome them. A satisfying wilderness adventure. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)