An Adirondack Life by Brian Freed

“I know you probably want to kill me right now, and I think I deserve it too,” he said. I took a step closer and that’s when I noticed the knife in his hand. I looked up and a tear rolled down his face. His fists clenched.

“Tell Emily I’m sorry.” And he slid the knife out of its sheath.

An Adirondack Life by Brian Freed is a story that takes place in a small town tucked away into the vast wilderness of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York State.

On a hot summer morning in Hanoga Valley the body of Jack O’Neil is found on a park bench. The police immediately turn to Jack’s best friend John David, but soon discover that John has disappeared into the surrounding wilderness. The police begin a manhunt to find John but they never do. Reporters and investigators pour into the small town of Hanoga Valley in an attempt to scrape together every scrap of evidence they can find. One reporter gets a tip that Jack may have raped a girl the night before he was killed. After months of searching for John David the manhunt comes to an end.

Emily, the girl who was supposedly attacked by Jack, finally admits to the police that she was raped. A few months later she finds herself pregnant. Her parents immediately assume it was Jack, but Emily believes the father is John David.

Years pass and John is never found. Some people believe that he escaped to Canada; others suspect he traveled to the West and some think that he is still in the Adirondacks.

As time goes on Emily’s daughter grows older, never really knowing who her father is. To the people of Hanoga Valley John David is a hero; someone who can step into the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on his body and survive for months. However around ten years after the manhunt comes to an end, something happens in Hanoga Valley that changes Emily and her daughter’s life forever.

When I first started to read this book, I thought it was boring, it starts slow but as soon as it gets going it is an amazing story. An Adirondack Life is a tale of romance, revenge and mystery that takes place over a decade. The end leaves you thinking about the book for a long time.

Because of the violence and sexual content I don’t recommend this book to anyone under seventh grade.

4 Stars
 
Justice