Hanging Valley is the tale of a fictional place situated a few miles inland on the southeastern Alaskan coastline, abandoned by the mining company that once made it a place of luxury and commerce. Like the name of the town, the handful of residents are hanging on to a futile existence.
Stryder, a privileged 15-year-old boy, is uprooted from his childhood beginning in the eastern United States after his parent's divorce. His mother, Dr. Marge Roche, moves him over 4,000 miles away from his father in pursuit of her dream of opening a family practice in a peaceful, remote place.
Alice Drumlin (who prefers her last name over her first) is the only other adolescent in Hanging Valley. Her doldrum existence in the backwoods takes on a new interest when she and the town's new kid, Stryder, discover a larger-than-life hermit living in the train yard.
Tag, the story's main character, doesn't know his true name or how he came to be living in the train yard. Shy and a voluntary mute, the man grapples with the gigantism that has made him a local legend. Tag's only human connection is his weekly pilgrimage to the valley of what he calls the Ice Queen, Hanging Valley's own glacier. To Tag, the Ice Queen is as real as any person, and when her existence is threatened, the giant must find his voice and warn the townsfolk of the impending destruction.
Other tales unfold throughout the book, including the sinister persona of Esker, the local handyman, who is not the stuttering idiot everyone believes him to be.
Included are comprehension questions for a middle school literature clasroom, and a glossary of glacier terms. These terms and their meanings were used to form the names and personalities of the characters of Hanging Valley.
