Crux, Gabriel Tallent
Crux, Gabriel Tallent
List: $26.00 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $13.00

Crux

Author: Gabriel Tallent

Narrator: Elaine Wang

Unabridged: 12 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 01/20/2026

Synopsis

“Insanely big-hearted.” —The Washington Post

“Electric.” —The New York Times

“Tender, immersive, and thrilling." —Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

"One of the best novels I’ve ever read about friendship.” —Stephen King, #1 bestselling author

In this story of intense friendship and grit, two down-and-out teens escape their lives and chase a different future through rock-climbing -- from the New York Times bestselling author of My Absolute Darling.

Dan and Tamma are two teenagers in their last year of high school in the southern Mojave Desert. One is a gifted golden child, the other a mouthy burnout. Climbing boulders in trash-strewn parking lots during cold desert nights, they seal their unique bond and dream of a life of adventure.

As the year progresses and adult reality looms, they are rocked by change and pulled apart by irreconcilable obligations. Differences of class, talent, and prospects take on new importance; options dwindle, and their decisions grow ever more consequential and perilous. It feels inevitable, finally, that something must give.

With a magnificent gift for nature writing and a joyful appreciation for the redemptive power of friendship, Gabriel Tallent gives readers a rollicking, adrenaline-filled, and soul-searching novel about risking everything to change your life.

About The Author

Gabriel Tallent is the author of My Absolute Darling, which was a New York Times bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book, as well as a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the John Leonard Prize.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Meike on January 17, 2026

Yes, the teenage protagonists of this bildungsroman are rock climbers, but the sport mainly serves as a metaphor: "Crux" investigates what it takes to maintain friendships through difficult challenges, so how climbers aiming to send a difficult route can encourage and protect each other, constantly......more

Goodreads review by Kate on December 13, 2025

Whilst the synopsis focuses on the rock climbing aspirations of Tamma and Dan (and the book does have several detailed descriptions of the climbs they do), I found this book also delves deeply into the relationships the teenagers have with each other, their peers and their parents. Both teens want t......more

Goodreads review by Paula on January 04, 2026

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Crux follows teens Tammy and Dan, whose friendship is the lifeline through homes, choices, and fears that feel bigger than them. Rock climbing anchors the story, both literally and metaphorically, as they face moments that define who they are. I really connected with the friendship at the h......more

Goodreads review by Celine on December 09, 2025

3.5 ! I loved that the friendship in this novel was the whole point. The love that Dan and Tamma have for one another is so palpable - I can recall the people I held that close when I was in high school, how they were the pinnacle of my life, and I think that Tallent captures this kind of magic perf......more

Goodreads review by Harrison on January 17, 2026

3.5⭐️ I mean it’s alright like… I’ll admit, I had pretty high hopes for this one, but I felt like this did not deliver what I thought it would give. Yes, it deals with friendship on the brink of big changes. Yes, there is some fantastic ameliorations on doing what you love vs. doing what is expected o......more

Quotes

Praise for Crux:

“Rowdy, electric…Tallent is skilled in animating the whiplash of teenage emotion… the way he executes the conclusion is thrilling, propulsive and earned.” —New York Times

“Tallent’s project strides forward with poetic guns blazing… insanely bighearted.” —The Washington Post

“Taut and engrossing…Crux recalls the best recent novels that have drilled deep into the physical and emotional damage of life on America’s lower rungs.” —Los Angeles Times

“Crux pulsates with ambition, intensity, passion for the natural world, and devotion to life’s biggest questions.” —The Boston Globe

“Climbing nuts especially will devour this ode to impossible dreams and the transformative power of friendship.” —People

“This tense and staggering tale of rock climbing and family demons from Tallent explores the cost of following one’s dreams… It’s a towering coming-of-age saga packed with muscle and heart.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Thrilling, well-turned… he consistently has his eye on the existential questions that climbing metaphorizes, such as how to balance independence with responsibility and what constitutes a meaningful life goal…A sharp novel about youth in conflict with dreams, nature, and reality.”
—Kirkus (starred review)

“Downright transcendent.”
–Climbing Magazine

“A gorgeous love letter to the power of dreams and friendship.”
–BookPage

"Crux is one of the best novels I’ve ever read about friendship between a young man and a young woman. It’s also exciting and tension-filled. Sharply written and full of controlled emotion.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King

"I can't remember the last time I cared about fictional characters as desperately as I came to care about the beautiful, hilarious and courageous teenage protagonists of Crux. This book is like nothing else — it's an unconventional love story; a merciless portrait of Americans who live (literally) on the edge; and an adrenalized, heart-stopping, action-adventure ride of the highest stakes. At the center of it all beats a pure and sincere heart. I absolutely loved this book and will never forget it."
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert

“A breathtaking, thrilling and unforgettable story of friendship, of hopes and dreams against a reality so harsh it broke my heart. I won’t forget Tamma and Dan. I adored Crux, it is everything you could want in a book.”
—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark

“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. Everything, it turns out, is rock climbing. Crux is tender, immersive, and thrilling, with memorable characters—not just the main ones either—who feel unruly and fully alive. Gabriel Tallent depicts the natural world and the existential difficulties of being a human within it, with depth and grace."
—Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

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