Ski Weekend

Ross, Rektok. Ski Weekend. 2021. 280p. ISBN 9781684631094. 

Sam and her friends are on a trip to the Sierra Nevadas to ski and attend parties during their Christmas break. This is a Seniors tradition that dates back, so four seniors are heading from sunny Southern California to the slopes hours away. Sam is accompanied by her best friend Lilly, her boyfriend Sean, who happens to be Sam's younger brother, Hunter, a star athlete, Brittany, the school's top cheerleader, and Gavin, a boy who used to attend their school but was shipped out to private school on the East Coast following an incident where Sean got hurt in Mexico. Gavin's dog Champion is also coming on the trip.

Sam's relationship with Gavin is complicated. Gavin has always been there for her brother, but he's also let him on some pretty crazy and dangerous adventures. Sam alternates between liking Gavin and hating him. The fact that Brittany is openly pinning for him doesn't help matters.

Snow is falling heavily when they reach the mountains, and the police has blocked the main highway, forcing everyone to turn around. Gavin and Hunter remember a back road that can take them over another pass, so despite Sam's misgivings they head off at the exit, and, using GPS, begin to follow the road.

This proves to be a deadly mistake, as the SUV crashes into a snowbank on a deserted road, and the six teens and their dog find themselves stuck in the middle of the Sierra Nevada wilderness with a lot of snow still falling from the sky, no cell signal, and only half a tank of gas to see them through. Lily suffers from a concussion, and passes out. Sam, Sean, and Gavin set out to find help, only for Sean to become pinned under a heavy shelf in an abandoned gas station. With a broken ankle and a swelling feet, they return to their vehicle.

As hours turn into days, the teens soon realize that no one knows where they are. With winter raging outside, and their gas, food, water, and spirits running low, Sam and her friends will need to work together if they want to survive ...

Fans of survival stories will appreciate this book, where each character turns out to be more than they first appear.