“Ski Weekend” by Rektok Ross

• 01/22/2022
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Ski Weekend: A Novel

Rektok Ross
SparkPress (2021)
ISBN 9781684631094
Reviewed by Tammy Ruggles for Reader Views (12/2021)

“Ski Weekend: A Novel” is a YA thriller that will have you biting your nails down to stubs. Life hangs in the balance, but so do friendships and maybe even hope itself. This compelling story follows six teenagers on a weekend ski trip that turns incredibly wrong.

Sam resents having to supervise her brother and his best friend, Gavin, on a senior ski trip. Now, it’s true that Sam thinks Gavin is drop-dead gorgeous, but the two don’t see eye-to-eye all the time. So being cooped up with him in an SUV—with a handful of classmates and Gavin’s dog—isn’t exactly her idea of a swell time. She just wants it over with so she can get on with her own life. But when the SUV collides with a snowbank, they suddenly find themselves stranded. They wait for a rescue that never comes, and they have no cell service. With freezing temps on the way, they seek help on their own. What happens when Sam’s brother is seriously injured and their food supplies gradually deplete? Sister Sam becomes determined to save her sibling and find a way to make the nightmare end.

Ross has crafted an exciting, fast-paced novel that will please both YA and, what I like to call, OA, or older adults. (I believe I’ve just coined a new genre!) Well-crafted characters and intense story arcs make for a page-burner begging to be on the big screen. These are the kinds of situations that have you wondering what you would do if you were in the characters’ shoes. And these aren’t cardboard cutout characters; the author has made sure his characters are so diverse and realistic that they could walk off the page.

Hold on to your hat because it’s about to get wild. Your question, “What could possibly go wrong on this outing?” is completely satisfied in this book. The narrative is emotional, personal, and engaging. I like the fact that you can see how the trials shape the characters and how they grow. If you like action, suspense, and the horror real life can sometimes dish out, you can’t go wrong with “Ski Weekend.” Rektok Ross delivers!