Switchback

Best friends Vale Shumway and Ashton Hamid set out on a two-day hike in Waterton Lakes National Park, along with the rest of their physical education class. Neither is happy to be on this required excursion: Vale, who is aromantic and asexual, feels she has no friends other than Ashton, and Ashton, an avid gamer, has no outdoor experience at all. During a rainstorm, they become separated from the rest of the group and lose the trail they are supposed to be following. Over the course of the next four days, they struggle to survive, facing hunger, hypothermia, snow, avalanches, cougars, bears, rutting elk, and countless other hazards.

Albertan Stone excels in setting descriptions and wilderness knowledge. The story moves from one disaster to the next at warp speed—not unlike the hazards and levels encountered in the video games Ash plays—and readers will appreciate the connections Stone makes between Ash’s gaming skills and their applications in real life. The difference, of course, is that real life does not include re-spawning (coming back to life after being killed in a game), which creates problems when Vale injures her ankle and Ash breaks ribs and his collarbone in accidental falls.

Less successful is Stone’s handling of aromantic asexuality. Vale displays several stereotypical asexual traits: feeling alien/other, being highly intellectual, and exhibiting less physical ability than her peers. Additionally, the fact that Vale seems unable to form attachments with peers other than Ash may lead readers to falsely conclude this is true for all aro-aces. Finally, the entire shape of the novel is that of a romance—near escapes alternated with steamy scenes of close body contact—which seem geared to please hetero readers rather than an acro-ace audience.

However, Switchback will appeal to Robinsonade fans.