The Canyon’s Edge
Recommended Ages: 8-12 (However, I recommend ages 12+)
“But I’m not sure all this safety is worth all this aloneness” (21).
The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling is a gritty novel that deals with the mental anguish after a traumatic event. The story is loosely based on a true story of a flash flood that killed nine members of a family in July of 2017. If that horror wasn’t enough, the main character Nora is still processing the grief and events from a year prior that took the life of her mother and forever injured her father.
The story is recommended for ages 8 to 12, but I would personally start at 12 and go up because of the nature of the mental health crisis that Nora finds herself in. While the story is a bit dark, it is filled with hope and the author has a clear message of hope in these dark situations.
The story opens and ends in prose, but then switches to verse while in the Canyon. This unique style moves the story and events along quickly making it an ideal story for struggling readers. It is Nora’s birthday and the one year anniversary of the event that took her mother’s life (a shooting in a restaurant). Her dad takes her to a canyon he found for a hiking trip. Unfortunately, a flash flood fills the canyon and forces Nora and her dad apart as he is dragged down the canyon. Nora’s father is also dealing with a mental health crisis as a result of his grief. He has isolated Nora and himself from the world and even fears going to the grocery store. As a result, Nora is not permitted to attend school in person. Prior to the flash flood, he and Nora are arguing about this topic. Nora’s last words to her father before the flood, “I hate you” (p.41). Regardless of her feelings, it is her father’s strength that pushes her to safety before he is taken hold of by the waters. Nora wrestles with the potential loss of her father, a fight for survival in the desert, and the demons that have followed her for the last year.
Not only has Nora lost her mother, but in her grief, she has lost her best friend Danielle who she pushed away. In truth, the construction of this piece of the storyline is slightly awkward, but the point is that Danielle was a close and good friend who tried to be there for Nora. Nora is realizing that it is her fault Danielle isn’t her friend anymore and that Danielle just wants to be there for her and be her friend, even with all her faults. The story ends on this happy note as Nora goes to Danielle’s house with the hope of reconciliation.
A few quotes to give you an idea of the nature of the storyline and mental struggles:
“A bullet is tiny...And yet, something that small can rip flesh and shatter bone and puncture organs and stop hearts. Something that small can tear a hold in your life so large it will never close...” (8).
“Mary says Dad and I have built walls around ourselves. She says our walls are made of all the unhealthy things—guilt and shame and fear and anger” (15).
“But I’m not sure all this safety is worth all this aloneness” (21).
“What have I found? I’m more than what one person did to me. I’m more than this past year. I still have more to do with my life” (252).
Damn, does appear once in the book. “I have set that damn canyon on fire” (288).
One element that could be a bit scary for some readers if the “beast” that Nora is afraid of. Her therapist asks her who the “beast” is and Nora wrestles with that answer in the story. Some of the story in verse presents answers in an acrostic. These include the words Tormentor (81), Monster (100), and Demon.
Another aspect of the story is Nora’s struggle for the why or reason for what she has gone through. Why did a man come into a restaurant and shoot people? Why did her mom die? Why did another mother of two small boys give her life in knocking down the shooter to save others? Why is she alive? Why does she have to suffer from all this pain? Does she want to live or does she want to die? Coincidentally, we have been studying the book of Job in church and the need for us to look to God and not just trying to look for the answer to our suffering. This book offers great opportunities to speak with your children about a biblical worldview and the nature of suffering. Nevertheless, I would exercise a bit of caution depending on your child’s age in determining if this novel is right for them mentally.
