About the Author

Iain Lawrence grew up moving all over Canada with his family. He worked in logging, fishing, and even as a forest-fire fighter before studying journalism in Vancouver and working at newspapers for ten years. He is the author of fifteen books for young readers, including this one, and has received many accolades, including the Governor General's Award and the California Young Reader Medal. He lives in the Gulf Islands with his companion, Kristin, and their dog and cat. He invites you to visit him online at iainlawrence.com.

Reviews

A Junior Library Guild Selection

A Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award Nominee
 
A Sheila Egoff Children’s Literature Prize Finalist

A Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader’s Choice Award Nominee

Praise for The Skeleton Tree:

“Unsettling and compelling, a gripping, evocative read.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Fans of Hatchet and Lord of the Flies will be drawn to this harrowing survival story from Lawrence (The Winter Pony), which offers psychological suspense and action in equal measure. The boys’ exploration of rugged territory and the mysterious “skeleton tree” with coffins in its branches neatly parallels their individual quests to make sense of recent losses and the lives they have left behind.” —Publishers Weekly

"An emotionally engaging and heart-pounding read." —The Horn Book Review 

“This is not a typical survival tale ... the focus is on the rocky and evolving relationship between the two boys. Though Frank is cruel and Chris is innocent, readers come to understand that each boy is much more than he appears.” —School Library Journal

More Praise for Iain Lawrence:

★ "From the evocative jacket painting of a moonlit shipwreck to the superb characterizations, hair-raising plot and authentic period details, Lawrence's fiction is first-rate." —Starred Review, Publishers Weekly 

“Fast-moving, mesmerizing, this is a tale in the grand tradition of Robert Louis Stevenson and Leon Garfield.”—The Horn Book Magazine on The Wreckers