The Desert Sky Before Us

Two estranged sisters embark on a road trip to complete a scavenger hunt left to them by their late mother in this novel from an award-winning author.

“The Desert Sky Before Us is a marvel. A vital, profound story of the aftermath of loss, and of the terrors and illuminations of love.” —R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries

When Billie is released from a correctional facility in Decatur, her sister Rhiannon is there to meet her, even though the two haven’t seen each other in months. Painful secrets and numerous unspoken betrayals linger between them—but most agonizing is the sudden passing of their mother, a renowned paleontologist.

Rhiannon and Billie must overcome their differences as they set off on a road trip west, following the breadcrumb-trail of their late mother’s scavenger hunt, a sort of second funeral she planned in her final days. The sisters know the trail will end in Utah at the famous Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry, where their mother spent her career researching dinosaur fossils. But the seemingly endless days on the road soon take their toll, forcing Rhiannon and Billie to confront their hostilities and revisit old memories—both good and bad.

As they travel across the heart of America, and as a series of plane crashes in the news make their journey all the more urgent, the two sisters begin to rediscover each other and to uncover their late mother’s veiled second life, taking them on an unexpected emotional journey inward—and forcing them to come to terms with their own choices in life.

“The Desert Sky Before Us . . . is a rich, ambitious novel, and Anne Valente is a dazzling talent.” —Clare Beams, author of We Show What We Have Learned

“This is a big-hearted novel. . . . A wonderful book—surprising, lyric, and utterly compelling.” —Tessa Fontaine, author of The Electric Woman

“[Billie and Rhiannon’s] once-in-a-lifetime journey together stayed with me long after I turned the last page of this captivating book.” —Mia Alvar, author of In the Country

“Valente’s superb writing propels us on a most unusual journey filled with unraveling emotions and the breathtaking mysteries of desert river beds, red rock formations, and dinosaur skeletons. Impossible to put down.” —Booklist (starred review)