"Reminiscent of Louis Sachar's Holes with its quirky characters and
unique desert setting, this is a middle-grade read that will easily
transport readers somewhere special." --School Library Journal
(Starred review)
When you come from Nowhere, can you ever really make it anywhere?
Author Dusti Bowling (Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus)
returns to the desert to create a gripping story about friendship,
hope, and finding the power we all have within ourselves.
Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least livable town in the United
States. For Gus, a bright 13-year-old with dreams of getting out and
going to college, life there is made even worse by Bo Taylor, Nowhere's
biggest, baddest bully. When Bo tries to force Gus to eat a dangerously
spiny cactus, Rossi Scott, one of the best racers in Nowhere, comes to
his rescue--but in return she has to give Bo her prized dirt bike.
Determined to buy it back, Gus agrees to go searching for gold in Dead
Frenchman Mine, joined by his old friends Jessie Navarro and Matthew
Dufort, and Rossi herself. As they hunt for treasure, narrowly surviving
everything from cave-ins to mountain lions, they bond over shared
stories of how hard life in Nowhere is--and they realize this adventure
just may be their way out.