Raft of stars : a novel
(Book)

"An instant classic, for fans of Huckleberry Finn, Peace Like a River, and Jim the Boy: when two hardscrabble young boys think they've committed a crime, they flee into the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Will the adults trying to find and protect them reach them before it's too late?"--Provided by publisher. It's the summer of 1994 in Claypot, Wisconsin, and the lives of ten-year-old Fischer "Fish" Branson and Dale "Bread" Breadwin are shaped by the two fathers they don't talk about. One night, tired of seeing his best friend bruised and terrorized by his no-good dad, Fish takes action. A gunshot rings out and the two boys flee the scene, believing themselves murderers. They head for the woods, where they find their way onto a raft, but the natural terrors of Ironsforge Gorge threaten to overwhelm them. Four adults track them into the forest, each one on a journey of his or her own: Fish's mother Miranda, a wise woman full of fierce faith; his grandad Teddy, who knows the woods like the back of his hand; Tiffany, a purple-haired gas-station attendent and poet looking for connection; and Sherrif Cal, who's having doubts about a life in law enforcement. The adults track the boys toward the novel's heart-pounding climax on the edge of the gorge and a conclusion that beautifully makes manifest the grace these characters find in the wilderness and one another. This timeless story of loss, hope, and adventure runs like a river itself amid the vividly rendered landscape of the Upper Midwest.