Burn

A Maine camping trip turns into a fight for survival in this meditative dystopian thriller from Heller (The Last Ranger). Best friends Jess and Storey are headed home from their annual moose hunt when they find their route cut off by a bridge that appears to have been recently demolished. On foot, they arrive at a scorched village littered with corpses; with no phone signal, they speculate the violence is linked to the “secession mania” that’s been spreading through Maine. Further hiking takes them to a lakeside hamlet, where the friends exchange fire with hostile locals and steal a boat to pursue their attackers. They lose their quarry, but discover a five-year-old girl named Collie hiding in the boat—and now, in addition to finding their way home, Jess and Storey must locate Collie’s parents. Despite the high stakes, Heller gives the narrative plenty of space to breathe, allowing him to cast a haunting, immersive spell as his heroes traverse the ruined landscape. Painterly descriptions of nature and sparkling philosophical ruminations (“You are alone under the wheeling seasons, and the best memories are drained by loss”) elevate the proceedings. The result is a wilderness adventure with real emotional depth. Agent: David Halpern, David Halpern Literary. (Aug.)