The Dead Enders

by Erin Saldin

Overview

For fans of One of Us Is Lying, this novel set during the summer in the small tourist town of Gold Fork features four teens all sharing one secret from their past—and one explosive truth that could change everything.

In a place like Gold Fork, sometimes a secret is the only thing that’s really yours.

Ana, Davis, Erik, and Georgie know that best. Bound together by a horrible tragedy from their pasts, they forged a friendship that has lasted through high school. In a town full of weekenders, they all know what it’s like to be dead enders, fated to stay trapped in a tourist destination for the rest of their lives.

But with the appearance of long-lost family members and an arsonist setting the town ablaze, it’s time to confront the fact that what brought them together years ago might be what ultimately tears them apart.

Because someone is keeping one last secret—a truth that could change everything.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481490337
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	05/01/2018
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.60(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Erin Saldin is the author of The Girls of No Return and The Dead Enders. Erin has lived in West Africa, Brooklyn, and a cabin off the grid in remote Klamath mountains of Oregon. She holds an MFA from the University of Virginia, and her short stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Best New American Voices, and Gulf Coast, among others. Erin lives in Missoula, Montana, with her partner, two daughters, and a dog, and she teaches at the Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana.

Read an Excerpt

The Dead Enders
But first, let me tell you what it isn’t. This is not a fantasy. It’s not even a love story. There will be no dragons, no spells, no visitors from worlds that look like ours but aren’t, quite. There won’t even be time travel. No one is carried away on an asteroid. No one’s ancestors appear in a nimbus mist to hand over the key to the forgotten city. There will be no castle storming. We just aren’t that lucky.

Or maybe we are. Maybe it is a fantasy, after all. Maybe—yes, definitely—this is a love story. But it’s not the story you’d expect. It never is, in Gold Fork.

Editorial Reviews

03/19/2018
A bustling Oregon resort town provides the backdrop for four friends navigating a pivotal summer in Saldin’s (The Girls of No Return) emotionally resonant novel. High school juniors Ana, Davis, Erik, and Georgie are “Dead Enders,” full-time Gold Fork residents gearing up for the intrusion of the Weekenders, who are anxious to take advantage of the town’s sparkling lake. Georgie deals drugs to save up for her dream of taking her band to the city; quiet Ana struggles to understand her single mother; brainy Davis works for the local paper; and star athlete Erik just lost a scholarship, his best chance to escape an unhappy home life. A fire that destroyed an empty church two years earlier links these unlikely friends, and when a lake cabin burns down, too, arson is suspected, opening old wounds and threatening to reveal long-held secrets. Told in alternating first-person chapters, Saldin’s novel poignantly explores the inner lives of four teens and the darkness and poverty that lie underneath the veneer of a golden summer. This thoughtful, atmospheric read will linger with readers. Ages 14–up. Agent: Denise Shannon, Denise Shannon Literary Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"The characters are raw, giving this clever, moving story a staggering realism in addition to being a gripping thriller... In part coming-of-age story, mystery, and romance, this book has something for everyone." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Emotionally resonant... This thoughtful, atmospheric read will linger with readers." —Publisher's Weekly

"A twisty psychological drama... From ominous beginning to fullthrottle end, it will have readers hooked." —Booklist

From the Publisher

05/01/2018
Gr 10 Up—Georgie, Erik, Davis, and Ana are an unlikely foursome, bonded by witnessing the arson of a vacation cabin in their hometown. Gold Fork is a tourist's dream, but the teens feel stifled, especially by the Weekenders, vacationers who seem to have a never-ending supply of money and hubris. Georgie, the town pot dealer, is especially over Gold Fork. Her savings were stashed in the burnt cabin, and she's desperate to build her funds back up so she can get out of town. They all have their issues—Erik lost a football scholarship, Davis was just dumped, and Ana's about to lose her surrogate grandma. As their lives intersect, with one another and with some of the Weekenders in unexpected ways, their relationships are about to come unraveled. The writing is beautiful with several noteworthy passages, a fascinating setting, and a dreamlike feel. However, pacing is slow, and the story doesn't pick up steam until the last 30 pages. The four protagonists narrate alternately, but their voices aren't distinct enough to make this format successful. The most fleshed-out character is Gold Fork itself, and the inside peek at what it's like to live in a town year-round that others consider a vacation paradise, is intriguing. VERDICT Purchase for larger collections in need of dark teen dramas.—Mandy Laferriere, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TX

School Library Journal

★ 2018-03-05
Summer is always a party in the small town of Gold Fork, Oregon, but this year will be more memorable than ever—and not for the right reasons.First-person narration alternates among four high schoolers during summer vacation: two boys—brainy Davis and athletic Erik—and two girls—kind Ana and cool drug dealer Georgie. They are friends, of a sort, tied together by an accidental fire at a chapel that took place two years earlier during a church youth group camping trip when the four sneaked out at night to smoke a joint. Summer romances abound as well as complicated family affairs. On top of it all, someone has been committing arson around town, and the big questions everyone is pondering are who—and why? Most of the residents live dead-end, poverty-stricken lives in this tourist town, while the Weekenders who flock there during the summers and for the winter ski season see only a beautiful refuge. The characters are raw, giving this clever, moving story a staggering realism in addition to being a gripping thriller and a compelling critique of society. While there is mention of a Latinx community in Gold Fork, all main characters are white except for Latina Ana and her mother.In part coming-of-age story, mystery, and romance, this book has something for everyone. (Mystery. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews