by Ginger Zee
First published 2020
Helicity Dunlap emerges from the Bolivar Peninsula Lighthouse wounded but breathing after riding out a massive hurricane in Texas. She saves a stray dog during the chaos before spending a day recovering in the hospital. The drive back to Western Michigan takes two days with her mother and Sam, leaving behind her father and brother Andy, who finally enters addiction treatment. Fame finds Helicity first as a hero for surviving the storm and rescuing the dog, then social media turns vicious and she becomes the target of online attacks. School becomes difficult to navigate. Long rides on her horse Raven provide some peace, along with weekend trips with her mother. When a reporter offers to interview her about the Texas experience, Helicity agrees to meet in Albuquerque during the International Hot Air Balloon Festival. She takes her first balloon ride and marvels at the spectacle below. Then a haboob dust storm erupts while she floats in the sky. The pilot must find a way through the dangerous weather that could kill them both.
Genres: fiction, adventure, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, overcoming-adversity
Setting: Albuquerque, Bolivar Peninsula, Michigan, Texas
Period: contemporary
224 pages · Hardcover · Disney-Hyperion
Content warnings: anxiety, depression