Cheating Fate is the charged story of four teens, all best friends, who have grown up together in a small town in the BC interior. Loyal, compassionate, and trusting they accept their friendship bonds with a resoluteness that only another teen could understand. But when they survive a serious snowmobile accident and discover they share remarkable and frightening memories of their near-death experience, they fear that their fates are sealed and that they will die at some unknown time - together. The action is paced through four distinct voices Sukhwinder, a laidback Indo-Canadian teenager who loves his friends but gets lured into illegal activity with his urban cousins; Kyle, a restless teen wanting to conquer the motocross world with extreme riding; Jeremy, a sensitive teenager craving attention from a busy single father and absentee mother; and Cassidy, the only girl in the group of friends who fears for the boys and their flawed sense of invincibility.

Tension builds as the teens decide they must separate into pairs to cheat fate rather than tempt it. But in their separate realities, and vulnerable delusions, they surrender to the idea that life without each other is not worth living. In coming to terms with their emerging spiritualities and recklessly challenging their own mortalities, they learn that there are no human powers to alter fate.

Audrey Pfitzenmaier has a Masters of Art in Children's Literature fom UBC, and has worked as a teacher/librarian and currently a Literacy Support Teacher. Cheating Fate is her first novel. Pfitzenmaier lives in Ladner, BC.

Audrey Pfitzenmaier's profile page

Cheating Fate

What if the date or circumstances of your death had been predetermined, and somehow, you become aware of that information. Is it possible to “cheat” fate as it were and avoid death, or is fate absolutely final and unalterable? These are the questions that first-time novelist Audrey Pfitzenmaier addresses in Cheating Fate.

In a small town in the BC interior, four teens (best friends who have grown up together) narrowly escape death in a snowmobiling accident. Sharing the same near-death experience reveals to them that they are fated to die together at some unknown time. Determined to cheat fate, they decide to split up into pairs; never again will all four end up in the same place together. And although the paths they choose all take them down different roads, inevitably, those roads draw the foursome back together, leaving them to question whether there are indeed any human powers to alter fate.

Though, at times, the story becomes somewhat unbelievable, teens will find plenty to discuss in this classic “what if” scenario. Written with the reluctant reader in mind, the plot moves along quickly, combining fast-paced action with a dose of fairly clean teenage angst. Where the novel does become problematic is in the author’s expectation that the reader will suspend disbelief and gloss over holes in the story that just don’t make sense. The actions of the principal characters are often far fetched and unbelievable, and though the novel is very visual, there is sometimes too much “telling” and not enough “showing.” Despite its weaknesses, the novel does end on a strong note, and the author successfully creates a cliffhanger ending that will leave the reader to infer the ultimate fate of the four teens.

Cheating Fate is overall an interesting and thought provoking read for teens, and fans of teen horror flicks such as the Final Destination trilogy will not be disappointed.