Deadpoint

by Nikki Tate

Ayla loves climbing. But she prefers to climb indoors, with all her safety harnesses in place and soft mats to land on. Her climbing partner and best friend, Lissy, is much more adventurous and loves the outdoors. When Lissy starts hanging out with Carlos, the new thrill-seeking guy in town, Ayla wants to keep an eye on her and finds herself tagging along on a weekend climbing trip up Black Dog Mountain. But things go very wrong when Lissy and her dad, the only adult in the group, are badly injured high on the side of the mountain. Suddenly the risks of climbing become very real. Ayla and Carlos need to figure out how to get help, and every decision they make could have catastrophic consequences.

Genres: Young Adult

198 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2017

About the author

Nikki Tate was born in Birmingham, England, but spent her childhood roaming the globe. In Australia, Nikki battled a tarantula, in Banff she was chased by a mother black bear, and in Ontario she wrestled with a Canada goose.

Despite the fact that she has been kicked, bitten, stung, pecked, and sprayed, she has never been able to resist injured, lost, or lonely-looking animals. Over the years, her menagerie has included horses, dogs, cats, birds, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, rats, gerbils, spiders, crayfish, hamsters, and a pond full of koi fish. These critters and their antics often find their way into her stories. Not surprisingly, Nikki's favourite book when she was little was Black Beauty, though she also loved The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Hobbit.

Nikki has always enjoyed writing stories and still has the notebooks she used when she was eight years old. She made up stories about animals, plane crashes, outhouses, and Doctor Dolittle's travels in outer space.

A born ham, Nikki danced, acted, and modeled her way through her younger years. She still loves to perform, most often as a storyteller. She also enjoys camping, kayaking, horseback riding, travel, and building big things with sticks and string. Nikki lives on a tiny farm on Vancouver Island in British Columbia with a collection of furred, feathered, and finned creatures.

Reviews

[CaliNativeBalboa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 This YA novel for readers looking to improve their reading was better than expected. The story of a climbing expedition turned disaster started slowly, as another reviewer noticed, but really picked up steam. I've read other climbing junior/teen novels and this was better than most. The author knows the sport although, like another reviewer, I couldn't follow some of the terminology. Maybe a non technical description would benefit us non-climbers and increase interest in the story overall.
But if you've got a tween or teen interested in an action/adventure novel with strong female characters, this one's a good choice.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hi-lo read for fans of Hatchet and other survival stories.
Ayla loves to climb - but only at indoor gyms, where there are well-defined hand and toe holds as opposed to mountains and cliffs where there is no such guarantee. However, when her best friend, new boy interest, and best friend's dad all go for a weekend climb, she goes to and must put all her skills to the test.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow to get into, exciting as it progresses. Hard to follow all the climbing terminology. Teenage subtext of family, teen relationships, but the main themes are climbing, overcoming fear, and adventure.

[Jen (The Jenerator) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story. Good lessons :)