A small-town family's tragedy kept secret has a teenage girl turning to competitive rock climbing to

SYDNEY - Aug. 27, 2021 - PRLog -- Deserted by her father and kept in the dark about her brother's accident that she was too young to recall, high schooler Ashley Davies has her own secrets. When she enters a forbidden rock-climbing contest to teach her bully a lesson, she ends up uncovering old wounds about her family's connection to another's heartache. Climb, a new young adult fiction novel by Philip Barker, is a masterfully written coming of age story of resilience, grit, and self-discovery in the most heartbreaking of circumstances.

"She had no reason not to like the town. It was nice. It was quiet...She knew that this couldn't be where she spent the rest of her life…sometimes she felt that she wasn't really made for her small town."

It's that daring attitude that gets Ashley into trouble when she's found by the school principal scaling the grounds' tall water tower, a challenge with her nemesis at school, Jacob. Her mother is furious but her wheelchair-bound older brother, Cameron, is unsuccessful in hiding his pride. Her actions do not go unnoticed, and she's approached by the enigmatic school janitor, Ethan, about her raw and unbridled talent.

"I climb because when I am above the world, I can't be anywhere else."

Ethan, an old avid climber himself, helps train Ashley for the qualifying competition. When she shows up one day for instruction, she is incensed to find Jacob there, also training with Ethan. Ashley is perplexed as to why Jacob and his family seem to hate her so much and speak badly of her own family, including her disabled brother.

Through his evocative and powerful story, author Philip Barker, an avid rock climber himself, skillfully writes of the wonder of new experiences, the pain of loss and tragedy, and the beauty of triumph and self-discovery in his debut young adult fiction novel, Climb, the first book in The Ashley Davies series. Barker expertly conveys the fascinating sport of rock climbing through a proficiency of jargon and skill that is seamlessly organic to his compelling story, sure to thrill those with knowledge of the sport yet also those looking for a poignant story of triumph over adversity.

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Climb is available September 25 wherever books are sold. A special edition, containing a value-added rock-climbing rope segment and maillon, is available for a limited time at https://www.abbeydalecollective.com/. If you would like more information about author Philip Barker and Climb, book one of The Ashley Davies series, please contact abbeydalecollective@gmail.com or visit https://www.abbeydalecollective.com/