Eleven-year-old Sam's first visit to the remote west coast of Vancouver Island is nothing like she'd expected.

Her older cousins tease "the city kid" mercilessly when they're not ignoring her altogether. She often finds herself left to her own devices. Still, the woods and beaches around Brackenwood Point offer plenty of room to explore. Then, one day, Sam comes face-to-face with a wild cougar and her two cubs, and her summer vacation suddenly gets much more exciting.

Julie Lawson is the author of over 30 books for children and young adults. Her critically acclaimed works have received numerous award nominations, including the Children's Book Centre Award for A Blinding Light, the Canadian Library Association Award for White Jade Tiger, and Forest of Reading Awards for Goldstone, Ghosts of the Titanic, A Ribbon of Shining Steel, and many more. Her YA novels include White Jade Tiger (winner of the Sheila A. Egoff BC Children's Fiction Prize), No Safe Harbour (winner of the Hackmattack Children's Choice Award) and A Blinding Light (runner-up for the City Of Victoria Bolen Books Prize).

Julie writes from her home in Victoria, BC.

Julie Lawson's profile page

• Winner, Forest of Reading Silver Birch Fiction Award
• Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Our Choice