The Skeleton Tree

The Skeleton Tree by Iain Lawrence is a 2016 middle grade bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, set in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness. It follows 12-year-old Chris as he struggles to survive in the woods with a cruel 15-year-old stranger named Frank. Chris fights to survive while grappling with the recent loss of his uncle and father and Frank’s drive for power. Lawrence is himself a Canadian sailor and avid outdoorsman, as evident in the novel’s setting, the survival methods it describes, and the deep reverence and understanding of Alaska’s flora and fauna. Against a human-versus-nature backdrop, the book explores themes of male identity, male friendships, and grief. The Skeleton Tree won the Canadian Children’s Book Center Award, The TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, and the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize.

This guide is based on the 2016 Delacorte Press edition.

Content Warning: The novel deals heavily with themes of survival and peril. It depicts vehicular death, drowning death, the deaths of strangers and animals, animal attacks, and animal cruelty. In addition, it mentions death by suicide.

Plot Summary

The novel begins as Chris and Frank await their imminent rescue from the wilderness. They’ve experienced trauma, loss, and trials but have emerged as friends. Structurally, each chapter begins in the present day and then quickly diverts to a flashback as the novel builds toward a climax.

A long flashback explains how the boys became stranded, what they did to survive, and the consequences of their decisions. Chris’s mother received a phone call from Chris’s uncle Jack inviting Chris on a sailing trip in Alaska. Given that Chris recently lost his father, his mother thinks this trip could be good for her son. She warns him to be cautious since Jack loves danger. Chris flies to Kodiak, and his uncle picks him up, taking him to a small sailboat called Puff, where he meets a dark-haired, sullen boy named Frank. Neither Uncle Jack nor Frank offers any explanation. After they head out, Chris gets seasick and goes below deck. He’s awakened by water rushing over him. The boat sinks, taking Uncle Jack with it.

Chris finds Frank in the dinghy and cuts loose the tether before they’re sucked down. Frank is in shock, so Chris alone rows once he spots land. Tumbling out of the dinghy, Chris drags Frank to shore. They’re cold, hungry, and miserable. Snapping out of his shock, Frank berates Chris for not saving Uncle Jack, belittles him, and attempts to demonstrate his superior knowledge of the woods.

They explore the litter-strewn beach and find a badly damaged fishing boat called the Reepicheep. Then, Chris finds human footprints, which they follow to an abandoned cabin, where they find a radio. They call in a mayday, and the Coast Guard answers, but the battery dies before they can communicate more. Frustrated, Frank throws the radio, breaking it.

Exploring the area further, they find a well-worn path, leading to a point overlooking the sea, and an imposing, twisted tree in a meadow. In its branches are coffins that hold skeletons.

Back at the cabin, a dead raven hangs from red twine. Chris takes it down, and Frank kicks the body away. A raven watching from the trees inspires Chris to take the bird’s corpse to the skeleton tree as a means of burial. The other raven befriends Chris, and they become inseparable. The raven, a clever bird, can mimic human speech and repeats lines it heard from the cabin guy, the cabin’s builder and former inhabitant. Chris names the bird Thursday.

Chris and Frank spend weeks in the small cabin. They find a stream laden with salmon and also eat kelp, seaweed, and barnacles. Salvaging trash from the coast, they find water bottles, shoes, and other useful items. Frank asserts his dominance as the older, larger boy and takes the cabin’s only bed. He becomes the de facto leader, though Chris is annoyed by this given Frank’s brash, unconstructive demeanor.

Near the river one day, a grizzly bear approaches the boys. Frank says they must stand their ground or the bear will never respect them. They don’t run, and eventually the bear leaves.

Frank believes the raven is a bad omen and dislikes the bird. He begs Chris to keep it outside, but Chris refuses. Tension builds, resulting in a fight between Thursday and Frank, which leaves Frank with a badly damaged hand that he hides in a glove. Frank’s wounds become infected, and he nearly dies. Facing his fear, Chris climbs the nearby mountain in search of aid, only to return empty handed. Thursday appears to be pecking at Frank’s wounds, and Chris pushes the raven away. Chris notices a green paste in the wound. In the morning, Frank’s fever breaks. The raven applied a medicinal plant to heal the wound.

At the summit of the mountain, Chris realizes who Frank is. Back in the cabin he tells Frank that they’re cousins. Frank laughs and tells Chris that they’re brothers. Their father had a secret double life that he kept from Chris, though Frank knew all along. Frank claims that their father taught him the survival skills he’s using now. Chris is jealous because his memory of his father was of an absent and uncaring man who taught him nothing.

Occasionally, Chris finds items washed ashore that belonged to Japanese children. Uncle Jack told them a tsunami two years earlier resulted in the debris along the Alaskan coast. Chris buries the items he finds, holding mini funerals for the tsunami’s victims by proxy. Through these actions, Chris resolves his personal grief and finds peace after the loss of his uncle and father.

The grizzly bear attacks Chris, nearly killing him. In response, Frank secretly fills salmon with crushed glass to kill the bear, but Chris gets rid of Frank’s traps.

In a dream, Chris’s father tells him that they’ll find a man and seven days later they’ll be rescued. One day, walking along the beach, they find a wooden statue, which they lug up to the point and call the Wooden Saint. They hope that any passing plane or ship will see the statue and think it’s a man. Chris starts the countdown to their rescue, believing in the dream wholeheartedly. In time, he convinces Frank to believe as well. They haven’t done enough to prepare for the rapidly approaching winter, however: They’re out of food and matches. If rescue doesn’t come, survival is uncertain. In the days since Chris drove Thursday away, he has searched furiously, but the bird is gone, and he’s devastated.

On the appointed day, no rescue comes. That night, the grizzly bear enters the cabin, dragging Chris into the woods. Thursday appears, commanding a pack of wolves and leading them in a charge. They succeed in driving off the bear, but Thursday is killed in the battle. Chris takes the bird to the top of the skeleton tree, facing his fear in order to pay reverence to his fallen friend. In the highest coffin, beside the bones of a child, are Thursday’s treasures and the companion raven that Chris put in the tree. Among the treasures Chris finds a battery for the radio.

Back in the cabin he shows the battery to Frank. They repair the radio and call in a mayday. The novel concludes as Chris tells the Coast Guard that he’s there with his brother.