The Avalanche Teahouse

From the author of the website Armistead Maupin called "my favorite culture blog," comes this enthralling novel about risk, rescue, and the perfect chocolate cake.

Cautious, sensible Cora and her brisk, no-nonsense mother Blanche run the last of the old mountain teahouses, six miles up a tough trail. Helped each summer by two snappy, fearless college girls, they bake simple food for weary hikers, daredevil rock climbers, and the seven-man mountain rescue team. After years away, Hap, the hero of her youth, has just returned to rejoin the emergency crew. Despite her private hopes Cora stays in the safety of the cabin, serving tea to a world of travelers. Finally two very different strangers press Cora to rethink the past and take a far greater risk. Against a powerful landscape, contrasting danger seekers and everyday domestic hurts, this funny, generous, unsentimental story explores the true nature of who really rescues whom.