The Trail
Recommended Ages: 8-12
Cautionary Material: Death of a friend and a character contemplating suicide.
The Trail by Meika Hashimoto is a timeless coming of age adventure story dealing with the processing of grief at its very core. Toby is hiking the Appalachian Trail in order to finish “the list” he and his friend Lucas created. Unfortunately, Lucas is hiking alone and he isn’t quite as prepared as he should be or thought he was. Toby lives with his grandmother and leaves without saying goodbye. Despite his lack of skill and preparation, Toby meets other hikers and helpers who are able to assist him in surviving and on his travels.
As the story progresses, the reader eventually discovers that Toby is hiking alone because Lucas died (137). Toby feels guilty for Lucas’s death as he was often a “needy” friend, and it was a result of his inability to jump first that led to Lucas’s death. The friends had a list of “cool things” they had planned to complete over the summer. Number 9 was to jump into the water in a quarry. Unfortunately, Lucas hits a large rock hidden beneath the water and dies. Toby feels that it is his fault. He does later realize that it isn’t really his fault that his friend died and the guilt and shame begin to fall away. It is this revelation that eventually allows him to help another character who is standing over a rock ledge contemplating jumping to his death due to an accident he helped cause that ended his brother’s baseball career. The character does not jump. This story deals with heavy issues, but it is done well and could help young readers learn to empathize with others who may likewise be dealing with heavy issues.
Toby also makes a new friend on his hiking trail. Moose, a dog, protects him and becomes his traveling partner. Later, Moose is recaptured by his abusive owner and Toby must decide if he will finish hiking the trail or will he rescue Moose. Not to spoil the book, but Moose is rescued.
A few quotes from the book to give you a further idea of Toby’s character and the themes of the story:
"Ever since the car accident, I hadn't been able to shake the feeling that bad luck followed me wherever I went" (17).
"I got into hiking because I'm trying to grow up" (45).
"I've been thinking about what you said. You want to learn how to be alone?"..."Just give up on everybody" (47).
"But I don't want that kind of alone. I want to be able to trust myself and rely on myself, but I want to be able to trust others, too. Being alone is not the same as being lonely" (48).
"I realize that even broken things can turn into something beautiful" (78).
"That it wasn't my bad luck that got him, but just something bad that happened. And I figured out a way to make it better" (121).
"Maybe life isn't about luck, good or bad. Maybe it's a lot about leaning on others when things get rough. And being leaned on in return" (126).
"We live through it. We survive. And we learn to forgive ourselves" (140).
"The tent is heavy. But so are some promises" (191).
"It's not about finishing the trail. It's about finding what's important in life and fighting for it. It's about friendship and adventure and realizing how strong you can be" (228).
I really enjoyed this story and there are so many great themes and messages for readers. If you have a child who loves nature and adventure, this story will be captivating and hard to put down.
