Spirit Falls

Two children. One wilderness. A friendship that becomes their salvation.

The Korean War rages far across the ocean, but in Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula, six-year-old Marie-Jeanne Charbonneau walks into the one-room Spirit Falls Graded School and meets Ricky Belisle. Neither knows that this small encounter will ignite a lifelong bond.

Their parents—wounded veterans and weary refugees of the Second World War—carry scars too deep to share, leaving the children to find their own way. Together, Marie-Jeanne, a French-Canadian girl, and Ricky, a boy of Serbian and Scottish-Irish descent, claim the forest, the lakes, and the swamps as their kingdom. In their secret world, friendship blossoms into something enduring and eternal.

But Eden never lasts. A broken family arrives, casting shadows across their childhood refuge. Strangers drift into their town, bringing temptation, longing, and the dangerous promise of life beyond Spirit Falls. And when a sudden storm erupts over Lake Superior, Ricky and Marie-Jeanne are forced to confront mortality—and the fragile line between innocence and loss.

Spirit Falls is a haunting and heartfelt coming-of-age novel about love, survival, and the landscapes that shape us. Set against the stark beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, it captures the ache of growing up and the resilience of bonds forged in youth.

For readers who cherish Ernest Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories, who were moved by The Outsiders or Bridge to Terabithia, this novel will feel achingly familiar and utterly unforgettable.

Enter the wilds of Spirit Falls, and discover a story that will stay with you long after the last page.