KDL Recommends

The Tree-Sitter: A Novel

ISBN: 0393060462

Title: The Tree-Sitter: A Novel

Author: Suzanne Matson

KDL Description:

College student Julie falls in love with radical student Neil, who seduces her into abandoning her life of privilege to help him tree-sit in endangered forests, a shared effort that is challenged by Neil’s increasingly militant acts.

Amazon Description:

A passionate and tensely pitched tale of first love and idealism set in the Oregon forests.

Julie Prince is a college student at the top of her class and seems destined for conventional success. But then she falls in love with Neil, a radical graduate student. At his urging she abandons her privileged East Coast life to tree-sit in the forests of Oregon. Julie at first regards the journey as a romantic field trip; soon, though, she finds herself increasingly moved by the lush magnificence of the endangered forest, and, like Neil, invested in its protection. As Neil veers toward militant acts of sabotage, Julie is forced to reassess her loyalties and beliefs: How much damage is done by doing nothing? When is it wrong to do good too zealously? How can she choose between the person she loves and her own sense of righteousness? Exploring this edge, The Tree-Sitter is a riveting and beautifully executed novel about the price of love and idealism.