Crux

Gabriel Tallent

$34.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Fig Tree
10 February 2026

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

A heartstopping story of friendship, thrill-seeking and defying expectations- the explosive second novel from the bestselling author of My Absolute Darling

Dan and Tamma are two Californian teenagers growing up dirt poor in the shadows of the Joshua Tree National Park, one of the world's great rock climbing meccas. Their mothers had once been teenage waitresses and best friends until their paths diverged. Now Dan's mother spends her days locked in her room, her dreams squandered and all her hopes pinned on getting her precociously clever son out of town and away to university.

Tamma's mother holds no such ambition for her mouthy, queer, truant-playing, snaggle-toothed daughter, who everyone but Dan believes to be a troublemaker and no-hoper. But Tamma and Dan are fuelled by dreams of becoming legendary rock climbers, of devoting their lives to summiting the most challenging climbs and defying all the expectations, both good and bad, that others have for them.

Climbing at sun-up, on cliff faces that test their bodies to the limit, is where their friendship is forged. It's also the one thing that gives them hope. But as their final year of high school unfolds and their climbs become ever more dangerous, and their home lives ever more extreme, it's inevitable that something is going to snap...

By: Gabriel Tallent
Imprint: Fig Tree
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 750g
ISBN: 9780241767320
ISBN 10: 0241767326
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 10 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Gabriel Tallent was born in New Mexico and raised on the Mendocino coast by two mothers. He received his B.A. from Willamette University in 2010, and after graduation spent two seasons leading youth trail crews in the backcountry of the Pacific Northwest. Tallent lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and three children.

Reviews for Crux

I wasn't seeking a novel about the intense platonic friendship between two young rock climbers, but here Crux is, and she’s a beauty * Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow * There are books we like well enough to recommend, but there are a very few - To Kill a Mockingbird, Catch-22, The Things They Carried - that we remember forever. To my own shortlist I can now add My Absolute Darling, by Gabriel Tallent The word masterpiece has been cheapened by too many blurbs, but My Absolute Darling absolutely is one * Stephen King, praise for My Absolute Darling * An outstanding book that could be this year's A Little Life * Guardian, praise for My Absolute Darling *