Review Detail

Dani is apprehensive about going on a school hiking trip with the Excellence in Leadership group, but she’s glad to be with her friend Gemma, Aunt Zoe (who is her history teacher), and the very cute Miles. She’s not as wild about having her younger sister Lily there, but since their older sister Rachel was killed in an accidental fall and their father has recently been injured in a robbery at the bank where he is a manager, she knows it’s important for Lily to have a change of scenery and to hang out with her. Dani often feels stressed, and tries to use the coping strategies that her therapist has recommended. Once the group gets to the start of the trail in the mountains, there is a brief tremor, but the teachers decide that it should be fine for the kids to do their hike. They are split into six groups of four, and Dani is in a group with Gemma, Miles, Miles’ friend A.J., and Lily, who doesn’t want to go with their aunt. The group makes good time, and even manages to traverse the difficult Devil’s Slide, which Miles and Dani plan to do a school project about. When there is another tremor, Gemma cuts her leg, and has some trouble walking. The group plans to meet a teacher at the summit, which is only a mile and a half away. The tremors have caused some difficulty on the path, and while the kids are trying to find a way around some obstacles, they come across two campers with a fire. They feel uneasy about Jackie and Rob, with good reason. Lily bungles into their tent and tells the others that they have guns and orange bags that look like they came from a bank. Rob doesn’t appreciate being found out, especially since there is a $50,000 reward for the capture of the two. Miles, Dani, and Lily are taken hostage, but AJ and Gemma are let go, with a warning not to tell their teachers too much. Lily pretends to have to go to the bathroom, and Miles and Dani escape, but Dani goes back to get her sister. Having seen an EpiPen in Rob’s things, Dani finds a way to put Rob in the path of some bees that she’s discovered near a cave where the group is sheltering. This turns out to be a good plan to disable Rob, but Dani doesn’t want to be responsible for his death and helps Jackie revive him. Luckily, at a critical juncture, the police and Dani’s father arrive to save the day. Back at school, Miles is in a play, and the group announces that they are using the reward money to donate a new stage to the school, named after Rachel. Dani and Miles share a sweet kiss after the performance.