Friends in the Wilderness

TFK Kid Reporter Safiyyah Hussain read Off the Map and interviewed Meika Hashimoto, its author. Read Safiyyah’s thoughts below.

In her latest novel, Off the Map, Meika Hashimoto takes readers on a gripping adventure in Alaska. Marlo sets out on a canoe trip she takes every year with her mother and dog. But this year, to Marlo’s surprise, her mom has invited Marlo’s ex–best friend, Amos, and his father. Before long, Marlo and Amos find themselves separated from their parents, at each other’s throats, facing life-and-death challenges in unfamiliar territory.

With only each other and some supplies, Amos and Marlo must learn to set aside their differences as they work together to survive in the wilderness. Can they do it?

A nature lover, Hashimoto knew she wanted to set her story in the Alaskan wilderness, which she had visited prior to writing Off the Map. “It is breathtaking. It is huge. It is a place where, if you get lost, you really, really can get lost,” Hashimoto says.

Marlo and Amos’s time in the wild is packed with thrills. But Hashimoto’s favorite parts of the book are the quieter moments: the conversations between Marlo and Amos “about their relationship and what went wrong.” She particularly enjoys when they talk it through, and each realizes where the other is coming from.

Off the Map is a perfect combination of adventure, peril, and heartfelt moments. Hashimoto hopes the story will encourage readers to expand their love for nature and dive into experiencing the outdoors—just like Marlo and Amos do.