First published 2026
Dan and Tamma scrape by in the dust and poverty surrounding Joshua Tree National Park, where world class climbers gather among the desert rocks. These two California teenagers share little except their circumstances. Their mothers were once inseparable friends, both working as waitresses in their teens before life pulled them down separate roads. Now Dan and Tamma inherit the complicated legacy of that broken friendship while trying to forge their own connection. The towering granite formations of Joshua Tree loom over their struggles, a landscape that draws adventurers from around the globe while the locals remain trapped in economic hardship. As Dan and Tamma come of age in this stark environment, they must decide whether they can transcend the patterns that destroyed their mothers' bond or if they too will be pulled apart by forces beyond their control.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, coming-of-age, contemporary, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, gritty, intimate, introspective, melancholic
Tropes: broken-bonds, coming-of-age, found-family, intergenerational-conflict
Setting: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Period: 21st century, contemporary
352 pages · Paperback · PENGUIN