A flunking Midwestern college student drops out and moves west to live the ski bum life. In the Colorado mountains he finds a group of like-minded, and sometimes degenerate, friends who show him that a ski town is the ideal place for young people to raise a middle finger to societal norms and do as they please. It’s a spontaneous party life of hot tub poaching, illicit sledding, and living scrappy and poor in a place where rich people vacation. It’s a life he quickly comes to love, but as winter turns to spring, the path forward isn’t clear.

A classic coming-of-age story, Colin Clancy’s debut novel is a profoundly charming depiction of skiing, mountain culture, and the beauty of human connection with the natural world. Find more at colinclancy.net.