A Constellation of Minor Bears

Award-winning author Jen Ferguson has written a powerful story about teens grappling with balancing resentment with enduring friendship—and how to move forward with a life that’s not what they’d imagined.

Before that awful Saturday, Molly used to be inseparable from her brother, Hank, and his best friend, Tray. The indoor climbing accident that left Hank with a traumatic brain injury filled Molly with anger.

While she knows the accident wasn’t Tray’s fault, she will never forgive him for being there and failing to stop the damage. But she can’t forgive herself for not being there either.

Determined to go on the trio’s postgraduation hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, even without Hank, Molly packs her bag. But when her parents put Tray in charge of looking out for her, she is stuck backpacking with the person who incites her easy anger.

Despite all her planning, the trail she’ll walk has a few more twists and turns ahead. . . .

Discover the evocative storytelling and emotion from the author of The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, winner of the Governor General's Award, a Stonewall Award honor book, and a Morris Award finalist, as well as Those Pink Mountain Nights, a Kirkus Best Book of the Year!

One trail. Two estranged best friends. And hundreds of miles of unresolved history.

• Forced Proximity: Stuck together on the Pacific Crest Trail, Molly and Tray can’t escape the memories of the accident—or the complicated feelings growing between them.
• Grief and Forgiveness: Molly is furious with Tray, but she’s even angrier at herself for not being there when Hank fell. Can she find a way to forgive them both?
• Disability Representation: A powerful and authentic look at the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, exploring a family’s struggle to adapt to a new reality.
• Indigenous and Métis Characters: A heartfelt story featuring contemporary Métis teens from an award-winning Michif/Métis author, perfect for fans of Angeline Boulley and Eric Gansworth.
• Friends to Lovers: They were an inseparable trio before the accident shattered their bond. Now, alone in the wilderness, the line between friendship and something more begins to blur.