Preteen angst, a blinding snowstorm, and an ice-fishing competition gone wrong add up to a dramatic life-and-death struggle for two friends in this YA adventure. The first prize for the Oneida Lake Ice Fishing Derby is an ATV and a fully-loaded ice fishing hut. Tanner Phillips, the tale’s 12-year-old narrator, is determined to not only win but also to prove to his dad and the other adults in the competition that he’s not the screw-up little kid who blew it last year. But nothing goes as planned. The boy and his jittery new friend, Richie Donald, already unnerved by what they fear may be the fatal disappearance of one competitor at the hands of another, are left alone on the ice when Tanner’s dad must rush an injured contestant to the hospital. Still, Tanner refuses to give up his quest for the big walleye that will ensure his victory.

CassanoLochman (God’s Light, 2018, etc.), the author of YA novels and spiritual verse, expertly wraps a mystery, a strong sense of foreboding, family woes, and the confusion, grandiosity, and resentments of early adolescence around surprisingly in-depth details about the lures, lines, gear, and subtleties of ice fishing on a cold winter morning.

( A large cloud of frozen breath billowed and curled from my nostrils, Tanner relates. I found comfort in the solitude and scanned the familiar shoreline….I loved this lake and knew her shoreline as well as any Oneida fisherman. )

Even readers with little interest in the sport should find it difficult to put this tense, eventful book down as one disaster follows another-injuries, lost cellphones, and a howling snowstorm rocketing the untethered ice hut across the lake onto thinning ice. The challenges to both boys’ courage and hitherto untested strengths of character ring true. And when Tanner can no longer keep up a brave front for panicky Richie’s benefit ( I want to see my mom and dad. I want to be done on this ice! ) and the roles are reversed, the tale is genuinely moving.

Edge-of-the-seat suspense and realistic portrayals of a pair of boys facing personal and elemental trials make this novel a substantial page-turner. –Kirkus Review

This page-turning, heart-pounding survival story and AMAZON #1 BESTSELLER will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Stranded on Thin Ice is an adventure story for boys and girls and the whole family. Twelve-year-old Tanner Phillips fishes the Oneida Lake Ice Fishing Derby every year with his dad. Last year, he ruined everything – losing the competition and losing some of his grandfather’s gear. This year, Tanner is determined to not only prove his skills on the ice but also show his dad, once and for all, that he’s no longer a little kid. But as soon as they get out on the ice, the competition turns disastrous. When one of the competitors goes missing and another gets injured, Tanner’s father must leave Tanner and his new friend, Richie, alone on the ice. After their ice hut comes unhitched, Tanner and Richie find themselves blown across the frozen lake in a blinding snowstorm. Alone. Without their cell phones. Trapped, on thin ice. Suddenly, it isn’t just about winning the derby – it’s about life and death.

In one perilous night, Tanner will have to prove not to his father, but to himself, that he has the courage and determination to survive. Can Tanner and Richie survive the unthinkable? Can they survive Stranded on Thin Ice?

Humor tempers peril in STRANDED ON THIN ICE, an excellent coming-of-age journey in which new friends join wits and will to overcome fearful challenges. Alicia Rudnicki for IndieReader