I have read every book Joanthan Evison has written and have never been disappointed. He writes novel that are always different and they have you turning the pages at lightning speed. His latest book reminds you of his debut novel. Legends of the North Cascades is two novels in one. There is one story about Dave and Bella which takes place in the present and another with the characters N'ka and his mother S'tka which takes place in the ice age. Dave is back from serving I'm Iraq and Bella is his daughte. Dave is having a crisis of conscience and moves him and his daughter into a cave up in the hills living their life off the grid. He is fed up with society. N'ka and his mother are doing all to survive the icy wilderness and are terrified of other tribes and large prey. They also have a similar life in that both parents are widows. It's a story of survival and taking chances and to look beyond societal norms. I found it compelling and fisnished it in one sitting. It's not my favorite Jonathan Evison book but I would still recommend. It's a great book for his diehard fans and if you are new to his works, I would start with his previous novels.

Title: Legends of the North Cascades
Author: Jonathan Evison
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Dave Cartwright is already living on the edge, with a blue collar job he hates that barely pays the bills, a house on the verge of foreclosure, a failing marriage, and the recurring memories of three tours in Iraq. His only bright spot is his sometimes too-wise daughter, Bella, who sees and understands much beyond her years. When the unthinkable occurs, Dave makes a seemingly over-the-top decision to move with Bella to a cave in the wilderness. As they embark on this compelling and challenging backcountry adventure, Bella’s reality takes an unforeseen turn, retreating into the ancient world of a mother and son who lived in the cave thousands of years ago at the end of the last Ice Age. What unfolds amidst the struggle to survive is a meditation on both the perils of isolation and the human need for connection.

I’m not 100% sure what I think about this book. Excellent writing and the setting was vivid and vibrant, but…honestly, I finished the book and thought “What was the point?” I felt sympathy for Dave and his struggles—and I actually agree with him about wanting to shut the world out because of the toxicity and hate—but we didn’t get to see his moment of epiphany.

The ending was very abrupt, and I didn’t even care if Dave lived or died. I cared about Bella, yes, but what was the point of her flashbacks into the ancient past? Why did they even happen---and how? No answers, sadly.

Jonathan Evison is a bestselling author. Legends of the North Cascades is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Algonquin Books in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 6/4.)

This book had a very unique concept. Not only in the way it was told, but also just the idea in itself. Our story follows Dave, a marine who was in the middle east, and his daughter Bella. Dave, after the sudden demise of his wife and mother of his child, becomes fed up with society for a multitude of reasons (honestly, I relate in a big way). He decides his best option is to take his daughter and move to a cave in the wilderness. The story follows not only them, but has outsider looks from others in the area regarding his moving to the cave. The story also is interspersed with memories from the native people who originally populated the area during the ice age. The story was haunting, touching, but also uplifting as well. I came away from the book with a renewed hope for the future for these characters.
I have no idea how it was done, but the story was so well done and the experiences of all the characters were so expertly interwoven like I haven't seen in a while.
Meticulously researched, absolutely stunningly written, and compelling in a number of ways, I would highly recommend this book.

If there ever was a book that deserved the description of "atmospheric", this would be it. The emotions are palpable, the scenery clearly visible. David is clearly suffering and his daughter, Bella, wants so badly to help her dad. This book tore at my heartstrings. It's a clear and frightening look at PTSD and how friends & relatives fail to understand how to help. The action is slow, but builds to a climax that broke my heart. Well done!

I especially liked the alternate plot that weaves a Native American story of a woman and her son. Native American history is part of the fabric of life in the North Cascades (and all of the Pacific Northwest), so this tale adds to the depth of the emotional impact of this book.

I live in the PNW, not too far from the setting of this book (actually quite near the author's hometown), so maybe knowing the area and the local connection fostered a bias in this review. Having said that, though, I really did enjoy the book. In many ways the plot(s) takes second place to the setting, but I was completely captivated.

A couple of nitpicky points that took me out of the plot or didn't ring quite true for me -- the daughter's name (Bella) -- yes, I know Twilight was set in the area & there are many little girls named Bella here, but it seemed like an obvious cop-out to use that name (petty, I know!) On a more serious note, though, I was disturbed by the social worker and park ranger who seemed to ignore obvious signs of neglect and/or mental instability and left Bella with her dad in the wilderness. I felt that stretched the reality a bit; that either one or both of these men would have either checked on them more frequently or made some sort of move to remove Bella from the shaky situation. Just my two cents.

I really enjoyed this book! I have never read a book by Johnathan Evison before and the description and cover were both very enticing!
In this book, Dave is a 3 time Iraq war veteran who comes home and struggles with the normal civilian life. After losing some very important things in his life he decides "normalcy" is not for him. He decides to live off the grid in the North Cascade mountains with is daughter, Bella. He is fighting many battles within himself, as well as, within the civilian system. With help from U'ke'let, S'tka and their son N'ka, mountain natives from decades past, Dave and Bella overcome many obstacles to get the help they need

I can relate to this book in so many ways. Having lost a parent at a young age I understand Bella's feelings of not fitting in with the normal kids. I am a military spouse with an Iraq war veteran at home. I also feel the constraints of the government system. My one complaint about the book was the lack of help given to Dave after he returns home from war. The author seems to forget there is a VA system. Dave wouldn't have struggled so bad financially if the author had considered he would receive VA compensation. I felt like the author wanted to portray the negative mental health side of being a war veteran when he could have used his book as a tool to help other veterans find resources they need. The only help he offered throughout the book was a therapist which many veterans are often afraid to reach out too.
I was able to put myself on the mountain. I felt the wind and the cold. I saw the squirrels and wolves. I felt the stares from the town locals. The writing was wonderfully detailed and descriptive. I found myself sad a day after I finished this book because I didn't have more to read about. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this great story!

oesn’t bode well. I’m not five minutes into the book and a young mother is killed in a car accident. Sheriff doesn’t visit the father but rather just phones him. Father doesn’t rush to the scene, rush to the hospital, lose his mind. Rather he goes in and tells his seven-year-old daughter that mom died in a car wreck. Doesn’t seem realistic to me.

But this story uses an interesting way of telling the story...of the two time periods seen through Bella’s 7 year old eyes....the first indigenous people’s use of the mountain cave and her time spent there.

More serious flaws..Mom tells Bella stories...uses words like fickleness and dwindle. Not words I use for a less than 7 year old.

The further in I got into the book, the more frustrated I became at the way Dave speaks to his 7 year old daughter. From the book .... he said. “A terrorist is somebody who does something violent, or something meant to scare people or intimidate them for the sake of a belief, which is usually religious or political.” He uses words that can only require the brightest of 7 year olds to state ‘I don’t understand. Of interest, as the story continues, he still uses words that a 7 year old doesn’t understand but now she questions and he is explains.

That said, even with all the above criticisms, I continued to read and see where the storyline took me. And I did become invested in the characters, which is a good sign for me. Giving this one a 4. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC

Trauma destroys the lives of those who have lived through devastating events but it also impacts the lives of the people around the trauma victim. 

Legends of the North Cascades tells the story of two beings whose trauma leads them to isolate from society, each with a child they determine to protect. But isolating from society does not bring healing, and their post traumatic stress disorder worsens.

Dave hoped for a football scholarship but it eluded him; with few choices he enlisted in the Marines. He knew that on the field he was a determined, hard worker, a quick thinker whose insight made up for his slender size. He loved his country and he wanted to travel and to make a difference.

But after three tours in Iraq, Dave had lost his illusions. He returned home psychologically damaged to struggle on his own. His marriage floundered. They thought a child could change things, and during pregnancy they did join in expectation and joy. With Bella's birth, their problems worsened.

When his wife suddenly dies, Dave decides to take Bella to live in a cave in the North Cascades. He owed money and was going to lose the house. He and Bella would live off the land where they would be safe from the human world.

At first, Bella was happy and Dave was well organized and directed. Bella resisted attempts to bring her back into town. But over time, Dave\'s mental health deteriorated and Bella grapples with estrangement and loneliness.

Thousands of years before Dave and Bella came to the North Cascades, S'tka refused to join her clan when they migrated into the unknown lands beyond the mountains. As a female, she had suffered under male power, allowed to starve while pregnant and raped. She gives birth to N'ka and does everything she can to protect him. But her son grew up and wanted to find others, to expand his world. His mother insisted that others brought pain and put their lives at risk.

Jonathan Evison uses the two timelines to illustrate the universality of human experience, the worst and the best of society, and the damage we inflict on others.

The children love their parents, but also are open to finding good in human society.

Legends of the North Cascade offers unforgettable characters and a transformative story that will wring your heart and mend it again.

I received an advanced ready copy of the book from the publisher. My review is fair and unbiased.

**Review will be posted on my blog during the blog tour on 6/14/21**
Likes:
*I don’t read a lot of survival stories but when I was asked to be on the blog tour, I thought to give this one a chance. This one did not disappoint me. I found it intriguing as we meet Dave and he takes his daughter to the mountains to live in isolation.

*Dave is living with PTSD after three tours in Iraq. He doesn’t know how to function back at home without having the trauma of war affect him and his loved ones so he makes a decision to leave it all behind and retreat into the wilderness with his daughter. What scared me was his daughter Bella toughing it out with him. He teaches her to survive but barely and when something happens where the roles are reversed he realizes what his decision may have cost him.

*Bella is a loving daughter who has already lost her mother and doesn’t want to lose her dad. So she follows him. The one good thing that came out of their time in the wilderness is Bella did learn how to survive.

*There were accounts in the book from the people in the community, sort of like a documentary at times. We heard from Dave’s brother-in-law, the ranger and others into Dave’s mindset and maybe when they realized things went wrong for him.

Random Notes:
Trigger: scenes from war, injury, PTSD, depression, grief

*The story jumps a lot from Dave’s present, his past, the accounts from community members and then a story that Bella experiences through memories of Ice Age people that lived in the cave she and her dad live in. The Ice Age story ~ though I can see it’s parallel to Dave/Bella’s story, took me out of the story at times.

*I was so frustrated with Dave but I understood he needed help also. But as a mom, I was about to march up there and get Bella from the mountain.

Final Thoughts:
This is the first book I’ve read from this author and it’s not usually the kind of book I tend to read. I found the story to be a quick read. It was also an emotional story about a father and daughter living in isolation. I felt the setting of the Cascades really captured how Dave felt isolated in his suffering with PTSD after his tour of duties in Iraq. The parallel Ice Age story didn’t quite keep my interest until the ending when Dave and Bella’s time on the mountain becomes a dangerous situation. I think that is when both stories confronted the issues of guilt, grief and anger the main characters were feeling. Overall, I found it to be a captivating story.

I requested the book because of the title, since I've visited the area and thought I'd learn more about the region, it's history and legends.

The book was not at all as I expected, but that is not a negative. It grabs you and doesn't let go. Felt great empathy for the father and his daughter, but really feared for the girl living in such depravation at such a young age.

Didn't find the uncle and his family at all sympathetic. Bureaucrats where just as expected - negative forces most of the time.

The ancient story was hard for me because it was so brutal (which I believe to be pretty accurate according to what we believe we know ), but what bothered me was the connection of this story to a child so young and isolated.

Would I recommend, yes, to older readers.

A man suffering from PTSD following multiple tours in Afghanistan must suddenly face life as a single father. He further retreats, going so far as to take his daughter to live in a cave in the North Cascades. His daughter begins having "memories" that couldn't possibly be her own. Or could they?

Dave Cartwright used to be good at a lot of things: good with his hands, good at solving problems, good at staying calm in a crisis. But three tours in Iraq, Dave’s life has begun to unravel. Gripped by PTSD, he finds himself losing his home, his wife, his direction. Most days, his love for his seven-year-old daughter, Bella, is the only thing keeping him going. When tragedy strikes, Dave makes a dramatic decision: the two of them will flee their damaged lives, heading off the grid to live in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. As they carve out a home in a cave in that harsh, breathtaking landscape, echoes of its past begin to reach them. Bella retreats into herself, absorbed by visions of a mother and son who lived in the cave thousands of years earlier, at the end of the last ice age. Back in town, Dave and Bella themselves are rapidly becoming the stuff of legend—to all but those who would force them to return home. As winter sweeps toward the North Cascades, past and present intertwine into a timeless conclusion.

I have never read any of this author's work, but was drawn by the title as I have seen the southern part of the Cascades and was familiar with the area. It was a beautiful story of family and their love for one another, both in the distant past and future. It took me a little while to pick up the authors style, but once I did, I could not put the book down. I was up very late one night because I had to see how it ended and knew I would not sleep until I did! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this beautiful story, and I highly recommend it.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book and found it slightly hard to read and follow. It jumped around too much for me and I had trouble following the storyline. I'm still not sure if I fully understand everything that happened in the book.

To put it simply, I didn't care for this book. The plot bounced all over -- from Dave and Bella in the cave, to characters living in the ice age, to Dave during his military service, to random strangers who had something to say about the situation...The one part of the plot that I found the most interesting was never explained or mentioned again, I'd dismiss it as a hallucination, but it wouldn't make sense for that character to have imagined it.

I found it difficult to keep reading this book. I didn't think the PTSD was very accurate and had great difficulty imagining a child surviving this childhood unscathed. It was a slow read. I wanted to like it. I wanted to be able to recommend it to fans of THE GREAT ALONE by Kristen Hannah but I just can't. The book was not engaging enough. It was flat to me.

After coming home from war Dave is trying to get through his PTSD so he can be there for his young daughter Bella. Unable to deal with pressures of being home and debt he packs up a bit of their belongings and he and Bella hike up into the Cascades to an ancient cave that will be their home. They live off the land where Bella's education consists of her father's knowledge and library books from infrequent trips made back to town. Life is ok but soon the world will come to them with a plea to send Bella back to town. The secondary story is that of another parent and child who lived in the cave back in the Ice Age. This is a love story to nature and the act of living simply in the rugged Cascades as well as a look at parent/child relationships. This book will appeal to a wide variety of readers from CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR ancient history to outdoor adventure in THE RIVER to families living off the grid like THE GREAT ALONE. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I don't think compelling is a strong enough word for this novel, but it's all I've got. I cannot wait to purchase a copy of this for my shelf at home, and I'll be recommending it to customers as well! Fans of Kristin Hannah will want to read this for sure.

Father and husband Dave Chapman has a hard time acclimating to home life after being deployed three times to Iraq. This becomes more apparent as he becomes a single dad. The love for his daughter isn’t an issue, but the rest of the world is! He try’s to find the answers in the wilderness of the Cascades.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I'm disappointed. Soldiers and PTSD are a solid way to tug on my heartstrings, so I cared a lot for Dave, even though there wasn't much development or change in him throughout the book. I was wanting a little more information on the survival side of things, which was just breezed over. I would have liked the Native American story to connect more, but it felt totally disconnected from our main story. It really bothered me that Bella, an 8-year-old, was witnessing this story unfold, seeing several incredibly violent and sexual acts that she wouldn't understand, and wasn't affected by that at all.

I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to read an advance copy of Jonathan Evison's masterful new novel, 'Legends of the North Cascades', courtesy of NetGalley and Workman's Press. This is a magnificent and powerful story of two families - father/daughter and mother/son - who once lived in the same space, though thousands of years apart. Both broken families are struggling to survive in a small cave deep in the dangerous wilds of the North Cascades.

Life was different for Dave Cartwright once he returned home after three tours in war-torn Iraq. Haunted by vivid memories of colleagues dying in his arms, the senseless killings of innocents, and the never-ending images of war, he unsuccessfully struggles to reconnect with the family and friends he left. behind, and quell the rage inside his soul. He is isolated from his friends, he is about to lose his home, his marriage is falling apart and he cannot find the peace he desperately seeks. He no longer feels he belongs in this world. When his wife dies in an automobile accident, everything falls apart. He, along with his young daughter, flee into the wilderness of the nearby North Cascades and away from civilization. The mountains are majestic but unwelcoming, their journey harrowing, their everyday life often cruel and brutal. The daughter finds solace in the imaginary world she creates of the people who once lived there during the Ice Age.

Evinson's writing is elegant and descriptive as he not only captures the many wonders of the new world the young girl now lives in, but in his portrayal of Cartwright's tortured journey as he attempts to cope with the tragedy of his past and struggles to survive.in the hell he has inadvertantly created..

This is a truly great novel and a rewarding read. Highly recommended.

Poignant father / daughter adventure story.
Evison does a great job weaving the dual timelines that include a mother and son at the end of the Ice Age who are brave the elements because the son dreams of exploring the world at large. The father and daughter, living in present day, are hunkering down in the caves of the northern cascades, trying to escape the wider world.
Beautifully written