The Story of Two Children
Spirit Falls is the story of two children bound by friendship,
tested by wilderness, and shaped by loss.
Spirit Falls
In a remote corner of America, a world away from the scars of war, two children meet in a one-room schoolhouse. Six-year-old Marie-Jeanne Charbonneau and Ricky Belisle, bound by friendship and tested by wilderness, begin to forge a world of their own in the forests and lakes of Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula.
Their parents—wounded veterans and weary refugees of the Second World War—carry burdens too deep to share, leaving the children to find their own way. In their secret kingdom of swamps and forests, a friendship blossoms into something enduring and eternal.
But innocence is fragile, and Eden never lasts. A broken family intrudes, casting shadows. Strangers drift into their town, bringing temptation, longing, and the dangerous promise of life beyond Spirit Falls. And when a sudden storm erupts over Lake Superior, they are forced to confront mortality and the fragile line between innocence and loss.
This is a haunting and heartfelt tale of love and survival. A story of bonds forged in youth that will feel achingly familiar and utterly unforgettable. For readers who cherish Hemingway’s Nick Adams, who were moved by The Outsiders or Bridge to Terabithia, this is the story that will stay with you long after the last page.