Named a Best Book of 2021 by Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Yahoo!Life, Parade, The Strand, Brit + Co, Book Riot, J-14, She Knows, BookTrib, Women.com, She Reads, Ms. Career Girl, and more!
SKI WEEKEND
The Breakfast Club meets Alive in this gritty, gripping survival thriller about six teens stranded in the mountains who are forced to make impossible choices about who will live and who will die.
Six teens, one dog, a ski trip gone wrong . . .
Sam is dreading senior ski weekend and having to watch after her brother and his best friend, Gavin, to make sure they don’t do anything stupid. Again. Gavin may be gorgeous, but he and Sam have never gotten along. Now they’re crammed into an SUV with three other classmates and Gavin’s dog, heading on a road trip that can’t go by fast enough.
Then their SUV crashes into a snowbank, and Sam and her friends find themselves stranded in the mountains with cell phone coverage long gone and temperatures dropping. When the group gets sick of waiting for rescue, they venture outside to find help–only to have a wilderness accident leave Sam’s brother with a smashed leg and, soon, a raging fever. While the hours turn to days, Sam’s brother gets sicker and sicker, and their food and supplies dwindle until there isn’t enough for everyone. As the winter elements begin to claim members of the group one by one, Sam vows to keep her brother alive.
No matter what.
Filled with twists, secrets, and life-changing moments, Ski Weekend is a snow-packed survival thriller featuring a diverse cast of teens that will appeal to fans of One of Us is Lying and I Am Still Alive.
Praise For SKI WEEKEND
2021 Firebird Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction
2021 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards Bronze Medal in Young Adult – Thriller
2021 American Fiction Awards Finalist in Young Adult
2021 IAN Book of the Year Awards Finalist in Fiction: Young Adult/Teen/New Adult
2021 CIBA Dante Rossetti Book Awards First Place Winner
2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Young New Adult (Fiction, 17 Years and Up)
2022 WILLA Literary Awards Finalist in Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction
2022 San Francisco Book Festival Runner-up in Young Adult
2022 Reader Views Literary Awards Bronze Award in Young Adult
2022 Independent Press Awards Distinguished Favorite in Young Adult Fiction
2022 16th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards Winner in Teen Fiction
Featured in Cosmopolitan’s “15 Compelling Fall 2021 Books to Add to Your Reading List”
Featured in Entertainment Weekly’s “9 Authors Pick Their Must-Read Fall Thrillers”
Featured in Yahoo!Life’s “You’ll Want to Cozy Up With All These New Books This Fall”
Featured in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Hot New Books With Hollywood Appeal”
Featured in The Strand’s “Top Mysteries of 2021″
Featured in Parade “Best Young Adult Thrillers of 2021”
Featured in She Reads “Best Young Adult Books of 2021”
Featured in Brit + Co’s “22 Must-Read Books To Cozy Up With This Fall”
Featured in J-14’s “The Best Young Adult Thriller Novels to Read During the 2021 Spooky Season”
Featured in SheReads.com “Most Anticipated YA Books of Fall 2021”
Featured in SheKnows.com “16 Books Coming Out This Fall We Can’t Wait to Read”
Featured in BookTrib’s “13 Must-Reads to Keep You Cozy This Fall”
Featured in Women.com “The Most Anticipated YA Books of Fall”
Featured in What You Should Read Podcast as the “Best Horror of 2021”
Featured in Ms. Careeer Girl’s “Year End Thrillers Perfect for Halloween”
Featured in BookRiot’s “8 YA Thrillers to Enjoy this Fall”
“Ross offers YA readers genuinely diverse characters, each of whom continues to grow throughout the narrative… Brace for impact readers, this YA thriller holds little back.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A nail-biter with some surprising moments. Recommended for high school and YA collections.”—School Library Journal
“Ross has an “inborn talent for the kind of narrative driven storytelling that makes for a compulsive page turning read from cover to cover . . . “[U]nreservedly recommended for middle school, highschool, and community library YA Fiction collections . . .”
—Midwest Book Review
“This is a suspenseful book that had me thoroughly hooked from page one . . . The emotional journey of Ski Weekend is relentless . . . ” —Readers’ Favorite, five stars
“Full of twists and thrills, Ski Weekend will hook you from the very start and keep your heart pounding long after you finish. Rektok Ross’s latest book is an exciting addition to the YA scene.”
—Evelyn Skye, New York Times best-selling author of The Crown’s Game
“A pacey thriller with moments of great tenderness—and spine chilling horror.”
—Lauren Kate, New York Times best-selling author of Fallen
“Constantly twisting and emotionally relentless, Ski Weekend is a story of survival, friendship, and family. You won’t forget this cast of characters any time soon. Alternately heartbreaking and hopeful—a chilling, thrilling read.”
—Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, best-selling author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here
“This book will send so many chills up your spine, you’ll feel like you’re alongside the snowbound characters. The only time I don’t recommend reading this book is right before bed. You won’t be able to sleep and you won’t want to.”
—Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee
“Ski Weekend has all the intensity and thrills as The Hunger Games packed into one car over a snowy weekend. Secrets, lies, strong characters, and twists will keep the readers turning pages. If you’ve ever wondered how far you would go to survive then you need to read this book.”
—Eileen Cook, author of You Owe Me a Murder
“Ross weaves a stirring tale where each of her characters wrestle with choices that could result in life or death—some survive and some don’t.”
—Paul Greci, award-winning author of Surviving Bear Island, The Wild Lands, and other stories
“Ripped from the headlines, Ski Weekend is so real you’ll be shivering with the characters, fighting the elements, and asking yourself—what would you be willing to do to survive? Forget Netflix and chill. Binge this book.”—Sorboni Banerjee, Emmy award-winning journalist and author of Hide With Me
“This pulse-pounding story of survival mirrors all the highs and lows of the hit reality tv show Survivor. In my case, I knew I could quit anytime but these kids aren’t so lucky. Buckle up—this is one wild ride!” —Corinne Kaplan, two-time Survivor and Amazing Race player and reality tv star
“Captivating and shocking! I loved it!” —Elise Lee, owner at Away With Words Bookshop
“Rektok Ross delivers an absolute dynamic story packed with goofy teens, heartstopping moments, romantic tension, and one adorable pup in this adrenaline-filled survival story.“
—BooknBrunch
“If you’re looking to cozy up with a story of survival and adventure that will keep you guessing this fall and winter, then give Ski Weekend a try!“
—Book Club Babble
“Ski Weekend is a suspenseful story, that surprisingly sends you down nostalgia lane—reminding you of what it was like being a teen, and how great YA 80s movies were.”“
—The Tattered Page
“If you like action, suspense, and the horror real life can sometimes dish out, you can’t go wrong with SKI WEEKEND. Rektok Ross delivers!”–Reader Views, 5 stars
“In her breakout debut novel, SKI WEEKEND, Rektok Ross thrills readers with an electrifying winter tale that will have you wondering if that snow-filled adventure you’ve been planning is worth risking your life!”– Key Biscayne Magazine
“Hand this to students who like thrillers and books about survival!”–Youth Services Book Review
“The author does a great job of making you care for these characters, keeps you guessing, and [gives] lots of chills.” —Double the Books