The Luckiest Scar on Earth

The winds of change are swirling around 14-year-old Charlotte Potts, but not those that she expects. Charlotte abandons competitive snowboarding when she and her mother leave their home in the Rocky Mountains for one in the Cascades. Her mother claims that they’re moving because she was laid off, but Charlotte learns that it’s actually to reconnect with Charlotte’s father, Larry, whom she hasn’t seen since they left because of his alcoholism. Larry no longer drinks and desperately wants to learn to snowboard; he also happens to work at a ski resort, so Charlotte quickly takes up the sport again, dissipating what little tension had built up. Charlotte and Larry’s relationship grows, and she also makes a friend at school who is determined to protect the local salmon habitat from a company planning to build condominiums. In her first novel, nonfiction author Spagna presses strongly on themes of “defending what you love” and finding causes to believe in, but the environmental message can overshadow the story. Still, Spagna writes passionately about the West, creates a strong and athletic heroine, and addresses many realistic issues teens confront. Ages 11–up. (Feb.)