Medicine Wheels

Bryce Fairbanks, a sixteen-year-old Ojibwe boy, lives on the Green Lake Reservation in Minnesota with his mother, Taryn, and her abusive boyfriend, Doug. Bryce's father, Dylan, died when Bryce was in third grade after choking on vomit while intoxicated, and since then Taryn has cycled through destructive relationships and relapse. One night, Doug slams Taryn against a wall and Bryce intervenes. Doug smashes Bryce's phone and storms out. Taryn blames Bryce, then tosses him a duffel bag and tells him to pack. They are leaving Doug for good.

Taryn drops Bryce at a skate park on the nearby Wolf Creek Reservation, where he reunites with Robbie Brown, his best friend since kindergarten. They have barely seen each other in the two years Bryce spent at Green Lake. Robbie coaxes Bryce onto a skateboard for the first time. A bully named Aiden and his crew mock them from the gazebo. Robbie notices scars on Bryce's left forearm from self-harm. Bryce quietly promises he no longer hurts himself, and Robbie hugs him without judgment.

The next morning, Bryce finds Taryn passed out at their motel. Walking to his grandparents' trailer, he notices signs for DXL, a company proposing the North Woods Passage Pipeline along rivers that feed the reservation's central lake, posing a catastrophic spill risk. At the trailer, Grandma Anne welcomes him warmly and tells him Grandpa Bill is in the hospital, diagnosed two months earlier with thymus carcinoma, a rare cancer that has metastasized despite chemotherapy. Before the hospital visit, Grandma Anne encourages Bryce to take Dylan's old skateboard and beaded medallion from his father's bedroom. At the hospital, Grandpa Bill appears drastically thinner but remains warm and humorous. He reads the word on the bottom of Dylan's board and teaches Bryce that it is actually skaté, a Lakota word meaning "play."

Robbie takes Bryce to a party at the mansion of Mikayla Mountain, whom Bryce recognizes as his childhood friend from Ojibwe language camp. They used to call each other by their Indian names: Animikii (Thunderbird) for Bryce and Nenookaasi (Hummingbird) for Mikayla. They have not seen each other since age nine, when Mikayla's family moved to the Prairie Island Reservation. Her father, Darren, founded N8tv Sk8rZ, an Indigenous-owned skateboard brand. At the party, Bryce meets Caroline, a former classmate organizing a youth group to oppose the pipeline, and Caroline's partner, Aaliyah, a graffiti artist of Mexican American and Ojibwe heritage. Bryce commits to joining their cause.

When Bryce returns to the motel, he finds it bolted shut; Taryn left without paying. Grandma Anne takes him in and learns that Taryn is in Beltrami County jail after state troopers found prescription drugs that were not hers, a probation violation. Bryce throws himself into skateboarding. Robbie teaches him the ollie, a basic jump trick, and Mikayla becomes a second mentor, coaching him on technique until he completes his first full lap around a bowl. They discover a post about the Wolf Creek Skate Competition in August, featuring a team category. Robbie proposes they enter, and Bryce agrees, setting a goal for the summer.

Practicing late at a gas station, Bryce lands his first ollie with encouragement from Misko, a friendly Ojibwe clerk. Aiden appears and offers a genuine tip on the kickflip, a board-flip trick. Misko later tells Bryce that Aiden's father died by suicide years ago and that Aiden found him, complicating Bryce's view of his rival.

On Bryce's 16th birthday, Mikayla takes him to their childhood tree fortress before driving him to a surprise party at a local restaurant. Darren gives him an unreleased N8tv Sk8rZ skateboard, and his cousin Devin and Aunt Janet give him a new iPhone. Blowing out his candles, Bryce silently wishes for his mother to get healthy and sober.

Grandma Anne arranges for Grandpa Bill to come home under hospice care. Grandpa tells Bryce about the intergenerational trauma their people carry, from genocide to residential schools, and how he once drank to numb his pain before walking the Red Road, a path of sobriety, with Grandma Anne's love. He makes Bryce promise to protect their land and urges him not to give up on Taryn, explaining that losing Dylan broke her but that she does love her son.

Bryce visits Taryn in jail and argues for enrolling at Wolf Creek High School. Taryn resists, insisting she will make plans after her release, but Bryce pushes back, pointing out that her promises have never materialized. Taryn embraces him and gives her blessing, asking him to tell Grandpa miigwech, thank you, for loving her.

At the Fourth of July carnival, Bryce and Mikayla share their first kiss in a photo booth. In the days that follow, Mikayla quietly distances herself, leaving Bryce anxious. Caroline and Aaliyah build a website and petition opposing the pipeline, but DXL pressures officials to accelerate the permit hearing. Bryce proposes guerrilla tactics, and under cover of darkness, the group spray-paints an anti-pipeline message on the DXL highway billboard. When police arrive, Mikayla draws them away in her car. At a rally the next morning, hundreds gather, but the city council unanimously approves the permits, devastating the group.

Grandpa Bill dies while Bryce is at the skate park. Following Ojibwe tradition, Bryce and Robbie tend a ceremonial fire at the community center for four days and nights before the funeral. Adam, the tribe's medicine man, shares teachings about the rainbow road to the spirit world and tells Bryce that Grandpa will always watch over him.

Grief pushes Bryce into reckless behavior. At a bonfire party, he drinks heavily, taunts Josh, a member of Aiden's skate crew known as the Lost Boys, and starts a fight. He drunkenly accepts Aiden's wager: a team showdown at the competition, with the losers surrendering their boards and leaving the park for the rest of summer. Mikayla storms off, furious. The next morning, Bryce recognizes that his behavior mirrors his mother's pattern. He apologizes to Robbie and then goes to Mikayla's house, where Darren intercepts him with a stern lecture on discipline. Bryce offers Mikayla an honest apology. She forgives him but insists on two weeks of intensive training. During this period, they visit Grandma Anne's secret blueberry spot and talk honestly about their relationship. Mikayla explains that she felt something real in the kiss but that her parents' expectations complicate things. They agree to remain friends and see where their relationship leads.

The first annual Wolf Creek Skate Competition draws skateboarders from across Minnesota. The Native Skaters advance through early rounds, with Robbie and Mikayla carrying the scoring. In the championship round, Robbie lands a 720 spin, a double aerial rotation, for a perfect 10, and Aiden matches with his own. Mikayla earns a third perfect 10 with a McTwist, a complex aerial inversion. Christian, one of the Lost Boys, scores a 9, while Josh stumbles for a 7, putting the Lost Boys at 26. Bryce needs a 7 to win. He kisses his father's medallion, whispers a prayer, and embraces Grandpa Bill's teaching to skaté, to play. He flows through a sequence of tricks ending with a backside 180, a half-rotation jump, down stairs he has never landed. He scores an 8, and the Native Skaters win. Mikayla pulls him close for a kiss in front of the crowd, and Darren approaches, apologizes for his earlier harshness, and acknowledges Bryce's discipline.

On the last day of summer, Bryce reflects on how much has changed. Taryn, who emailed to express pride after seeing competition highlights, will be released in a few days, and Grandma Anne has arranged outpatient treatment. Bryce feels excitement rather than dread about the school year at Wolf Creek. At the skate park, Mikayla skates up, takes his hand, kisses him, and says, "Skaté." Bryce echoes the word as the novel ends on a note of connection, growth, and play.