Off the Beaten Track

August 15, 2021
A youngster is taken on a rite-of-passage trip to the snowy mountains in this French import via Canada. The narrator, an unnamed youngster whose parents are absent (possibly dead; it's not clear) and who now goes to a new boarding school, comes home from school to find Bruce, an old companion of the narrator's parents, sitting with the narrator's uncle. Years earlier, Bruce had told the youngster that one day he will take them to "seek the mountain in oneself." Now Bruce asks, "Are you ready?" Not sure but wanting to get "away, far away," the youngster packs a bag, and the two drive far out to the mountains. The two begin to ski beyond the markers, the narrator following "Bruce's tracks exactly." Then there's an accident, and the narrator must find the courage to save Bruce. This evocative story only hints at particulars: Where are the parents? Who is Bruce, really--a friend to show a fearful child how to be courageous or someone being careless with a child's life to soothe his own demons? The illustrations, done in a limited palette of flat blues, browns, and reds, showcase a spare graphic-design-like style that is just as evocative and ambiguous (paper-white faces are rendered without features) as the narrative, while the use of white space to define shapes also effectively gives a sense of the vast, cold space of the mountains. Atmospheric and slightly disturbing. (Picture book. 8-12)

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October 4, 2021
When dark-haired Paul was seven, Paul’s parents’ redheaded friend Bruce promised him a mountain adventure. Bruce returns three years later, surprising Paul, who now lives with his uncle when not at boarding school. Paul isn’t sure he still wants to go, but he does desire to “get away, far away.” At a French chalet, the duo skis past an ominous wooden cross, tall and black, reminding skiers of “those who have disappeared—skiers, walkers, climbers—a sign of their presence on the mountain.” As they rappel into a crevasse, Paul’s courage flags, but when Bruce falls, Paul’s mettle is tested as he seeks help. A back matter note reveals the book’s unusual process: Haugomat (Through a Life) created the art first using a digital serigraph technique, in a palette of cyan, red, and brown, then de Karangal (Painting Time) wrote a story around it, simply translated by Mixter. What results is almost frustratingly sparse text that allows the reader to feel both the serenity and danger of nature, while graphic, faceless illustrations against white space hauntingly portray the vastness of the snowy landscape in this quiet, taut adventure. Ages 9–up.