24 Hours in Nowhere

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

24 Hours in Nowhere (Stirling Children’s Books, 2018) by Dusti Bowling is a fantastic tale of events that happen in 24 hours. (Honestly, I didn’t plan to recommend two books with the same time frame two weeks apart–I just happened to read them both now.)

13-year-old Gus can’t wait to get out of the town of Nowhere, Arizona. Their town is number one in things like poverty, high school drop outs, and drunken mine deaths. His hope is the SAT, which will get him to college. But meanwhile, Rossi gave up her motorbike to the local bully to save Gus from eating a cholla (nasty cactus), and Gus has to buy it back. His only hope is gold from the dangerous Dead Frenchman Mine.

I loved seeing how Gus grew and how his relationships changed on this adventure that involves a cave-in, a mountain lion, a black underground lake, and of course, a failing light source. Definitely a compelling read.

Check out all the awards for this book:
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
One of Shelf Awareness’s Best Books of 2018
A Golden Kite Honor Winner
A Silver Nautilus Award Winner
A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year

Last year I recommended Dusti’s book Holding on for Dear Life. Dusti’s newest book is a YA coming out this October–The Drowning Game. She has many other books I haven’t read…yet. Go to her website for more info.