Billion Dollar Girl

October 3, 2022
Thirteen-year-old River Ryland’s life “has pretty much been chaos from day one”; her mother Sunny works late as a waitress and goes out on the weekends, and their trailer often lacks basic necessities. After a friend distances herself from River (“You always need rides. You never have any money”), the teen finds an eviction notice on the trailer’s front door, and a visit from the assistant principal results in the authorities being called. Taking matters into her own hands, River runs away, heading north from her Seattle-area home to Great Bear, a remote island in the fjords, where the maternal aunt she’s never met runs a lodge with few amenities. Posing as a 16-year-old summer worker, River gets to know her Norwegian and Tsimshian family’s history, and develops a deep connection to the spectacular nature around her. After her mother shows up to take her home, a sudden reversal of fortune offers River the chance to decide whom she is and where she belongs. Through River’s candid voice, Shull (Bounce) intersperses sometimes unbelievable plot twists with languorous descriptions of the natural world, organically exploring themes of environmentalism and human connection. Ages 10–14.