A Pack Within One's Self (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798182726900)

On October 10, 2010-a rare date that happens only once in a lifetime-twelve-year-old Nathan and his friend Carrie race their bikes down the newly paved Huron Valley rail-trail. But when an impossible cold snap freezes the autumn air, they come face-to-face with a creature straight out of Great Lakes folklore: an eight-foot-tall, silver-furred beast standing upright in the deep timber.

The creature doesn't attack. It watches. And it leaves behind a single scorched sugar maple leaf branded with claw gouges and unmelting frost.

For years, Nathan has kept his head down, staying quiet to avoid middle school bullies and hiding his fears beneath layers of silence. But when a locked cedar chest in the attic reveals that his late Uncle Mark encountered the very same entity twenty-three years ago, Nathan realizes the legendary Michigan Dogman hasn't returned to terrorize the town-it has returned to test him.

Armed with an antique brass sighting compass, a hand-drawn rail map, and the loyalty of an unlikely crew of friends, Nathan must venture into the treacherous logging tracks of Mill Creek Gorge. To face the ancient trials of the forest and protect the people he cares about, he will have to stop running from the shadows-and discover the courage that was waiting inside him all along.

A fast-paced, atmospheric middle-grade supernatural adventure perfect for fans of Goosebumps, Johnathan Rand's Michigan Chillers, cryptid mysteries, and heartfelt coming-of-age stories.