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Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt- Really Liked it (but can't commit to love with this one)

Passage from Trouble (page 40)

"Fine?" said Henry.

"Well, what should I tell her?" his mother said quickly. "That I sat in my son's hospital room for six hours and he didn't move once? That when Dr. Giles opened his eyelids and flashed a light into his eyes, the pupils didn't dialate enough to measure? That the sounds my son makes...are like none that any boy should ever make? You want me to tell her that the bloody stump is still oozing? You want me to tell her that the nurses come in every two hours to change him because he can't even use a bedpan? What do you want me to tell her, Henry?"

"That he woke up and said, "Katahdin." Henry laid his head heavily against the window, his heart would not believe that "Katahdin" didn't mean anything. The heart knows what it knows. -

The very first sentence of Trouble had me hooked: "Henry Smith's father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you." The story goes on from there to describe Henry's perfect family, his kind mom & sensitive dad, his super -jock brother Franklin, and his easy going sister Louisa. But it all comes crashing down around them when "Trouble" most definitely comes into their lives. Henry's brother gets hit by a car in the first chapter and the circumstances around this allegeded accident are murky at best throughout much of the story. The boy accused of causing the accident is a Cambodian refugee and has suffered numerous attacks from Henry's brother and his friends at their prep school. His story becomes intertwined with Henry's adventure to climb Mt. Katahdin in Maine. Henry's desire to climb this mountain came from his brother and he wants to carry on this adventure without him.

I rated this as liked it, not loved it because of the random twists of plot. I didn't always get where the author was going with this story and much like Peak, I just wanted him to go up the mountain, but kept having to wait and wait and wait. It is not an exciting page turner, but so many passages are simply beautifully written. This is a great read, if you enjoyed Peak or Touching Spirit Bear, I think you will like this as well. It is a survival story of a different kind. Henry must survive the trouble that has taken over his family and the only way he can think to do that is to climb a mountain that will show him that trouble can give you perspective on the real moments of grace and beauty in life.