A highly praised climbing novel set in Joshua Tree, California.
"Dan and Tamma are two Californian teenagers growing up dirt poor in the shadows of the Joshua Tree National Park, one of the world’s great rock climbing meccas. Their mothers had once been teenage waitresses and best friends until their paths diverged. Now Dan’s mother spends her days locked in her room, her dreams squandered and all her hopes pinned on getting her precociously clever son out of town and away to university.
Tamma’s mother holds no such ambition for her mouthy, queer, truant-playing, snaggle-toothed daughter, who everyone but Dan believes to be a troublemaker and no-hoper. But Tamma and Dan are fuelled by dreams of becoming legendary rock climbers, of devoting their lives to summiting the most challenging climbs and defying all the expectations, both good and bad, that others have for them.
Climbing at sun-up, on cliff faces that test their bodies to the limit, is where their friendship is forged. It’s also the one thing that gives them hope. But as their final year of high school unfolds and their climbs become ever more dangerous, and their home lives ever more extreme, it’s inevitable that something is going to snap..."
By Gabriel Tallent whose first novel, My Absolute Darling was a Sunday Times bestseller, a New York Times bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book; it was also shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize.
Hardback, 16cm x 24cm, 416 pages.
Published 2026 by Fig Tree/Penguin Books.
ISBN: 9780241767313.
You can read the first chapter free on the Penguin Website - click the look inside symbol.
"A novel about teenage rock-climbers? It’s an unexpected delight." Daily Telegraph.
Warning: Contains lots of rude words - not suitable for youngsters!