24 Hours In Nowhere

This book was on the NH Great Stone Face list last year, but it evaded me somehow.  Dusti Bowling is the author, and I enjoyed her Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus very much.  Like that one, this is a realistic fiction story set in Arizona.  Gus is a small 13 year old who often gets picked on by the town bully, Bo.  When a girl named Rossi sacrifices her beloved dirtbike to save him from Bo's torments, Gus feels horribly and vows to make amends.  Bo demands he go into the local abandoned mine and retrieve a piece of gold to get the bike back.  What follows is an exciting, funny and heartwarming story of discovering yourself and others you thought you knew.  (FIC BOW)