Author: Bill Rancic
Publisher: GP Putnam's Son
Pages: 320
Kerry, her husband and her ten-year-old son, Jackson, embark
on a 5-day road trip to Canada. Their purpose is to attend a memorial service
for those who died in Denali Airlines Flight 806, over a decade ago.
The couple
sees the road trip as a good occasion to let Jackson know about that aspect of
the past that they have always kept hidden from him.
The first chapter is in the first person point of view of
Kerry’s husband. At that point, we do not even know his name. it is only in
Chapter 2, that the author moves behind for a wider look, giving us the entire
story through the medium of the parents telling young Jackson about what happened
before his birth.
We learn the story of Daniel Albrecht and his fiancée, Kerry
Egan, both employees of Petrol Inc, the world’s biggest oil company, who are in
Alaska in the wake of a huge disaster. At this point the story reads almost
newsy.
Their boss, Bob Packer, is making unreasonable demands of
them, insisting that they fix the leak and resolve the crisis, so they can all
go home.
The other employees include Judy, Kerry’s best friend, and HR
head Phil Velez who lost his wife Emily to cancer, while he worked at his
previous company. He has joined Petrol, in an attempt to get away from the
memories and sorrow and the pity of his former colleagues. At Petrol, Phil feels
attracted to Kerry. However, he struggles to control his attraction and ends up
behaving in an unfriendly manner with her.
Working against odds, Daniel and his men manage to plug the
leak in Alaska. Soon they are all on a plane from Anchorage to Chicago. Aboard
the plane, Daniel and Kerry make plans for their wedding, and Kerry reveals the
news about her pregnancy.
Shortly thereafter, the plane’s engines fail and the plane
crashes, killing many and plunging the remaining in a desperate quest for
survival.
The description of the plane crash and its immediate
aftermath feels real and heart rending.
Phil is hurt and suffers from internal injuries. Kerry
suffers from concussion. A survivor, Beverley, who is a nurse, tends to the injured.
Daniel tells Phil to ensure that Kerry does not drop off to sleep, fearing that she might slip into a coma. Leaving them together, he sets out to look for Judy who
has disappeared along with the entire tail end of the plane, which has broken
off, and to look for his satellite phone.
While in the tail section, he finds that Judy is dying. The description
of Judy’s injury and the possibility of her slow but imminent death made for
difficult reading.
The storm and raging snow make it difficult for rescue teams
to seek them out. In this scenario, Bob and Daniel set out to seek help.
Outside in the snow, as they trudge weary miles for two
days, suffering frostbite and other dangers, Bob turns out to be more a
liability than an asset to Daniel.
While Mother Nature plays out her drama, the humans play
theirs. The author highlights the physical, mental and emotional distress of
the survivors as they struggle to keep themselves alive while waiting for the
rescue teams to find them.
Nerves clash as the need for survival brings out the
worst instincts in some people. This gives Phil’s character a chance to redeem
himself, to fight off the guilt that has been his since the death of his wife.
I felt conflicted about the character of Daniel. I admired the
way he rose to every occasion, looking for food that he could salvage, and
helping people. The fact that he is a crisis management professional made his
actions believable. But he also got irritating.
Sure, he was trained to manage
crises, but his ability to take charge in all situations jarred. Misfortune could
have brought out leadership skills in one of the others too.
On the other, the change that came over Phil was handled
well. It was nice to see him, confessing to his worst secret, admitting that he
left his sick wife alone for three hours, unable to cope with her mood swings
and the almost cruel way in which she lashed out at him.
The confession, and
his subsequent change of character, made him a more endearing character. I
began to sympathise with him, see his innate goodness. I also liked the unnamed
nurse who understood his situation and didn’t blame him.
The other characters too made their presence felt in a
positive manner. Flight attendant Kecia, and passengers, Beverley, small boy
Zach and his mother, they all came alive. Even Kerry, even though she spent the
greater part of the book in an unconscious state.
The big man who tries to hog the fire, and little Zach, they
are all real people. Even Bob has his moment when he apologises to Daniel.
While it is no surprise that they get rescued, given that
the book begins with young Jackson learning the story from his parents, the
twist is still there, and it took me by surprise.
This was a heartwarming story of courage amid difficulties,
and love seeking to triumph over huge odds, that I enjoyed reading.
My prayers for all victims of plane crashes.
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