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Sat Oct 24 2026 at 06:00 pm to 07:00 pm UTC-05:00

BookPeople Presents: Dusti Bowling - The Drowning Game

  • BookPeople · Austin
  • From USD 0.00
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BookPeople Presents: Dusti Bowling - The Drowning Game
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BookPeople welcomes Dusti Bowling in conversation with Adrianna Cuevas to celebrate the release of The Drowning Game.
About this Event

Format:

  • This event is free and open to the public.
  • Location: The 2nd floor of BookPeople.
  • Run time: 45-60 minute discussion, followed by a signing line.

Signing Guidelines:

  • To get a book signed, a copy of the event book or an item of equal value must be purchased from BookPeople.
  • The author will be personalizing copies of the book.
  • For high volume events, post-talk signing lines can become very long. Signing line placement is determined on a first-come, first-served basis.

General Info:

  • Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is not guaranteed.
  • If you have any accessibility concerns, please contact [email protected]
  • If you have any other questions, please visit our Eventbrite FAQ. If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to email us at [email protected].
  • BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.
  • There will not be a live stream or recording available.
  • All event guidelines are subject to change.

About the book:

Award-winning author Dusti Bowling masterfully crafts a wild ride on Arizona’s Salt River in this Hitchcockian thriller that’s perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen M. McManus.

It’s the late 1990s, and seventeen-year-old Christian is content with his summer plans to work and hang out with his cat, when he gets a phone call from his best friend that will change his life forever. James invites Christian to Arizona for a whitewater rafting trip, even though he knows Christian is terrified of water. But James is persuasive, and Christian relents.

In Salt River Canyon, the heat is scorching, and so is James’s pretty girlfriend, Freya. However, something seems off between the couple as bitter words fly. When James and the others disappear in the second raft, Christian and Freya are left to face the rapids alone. Disaster strikes when Freya falls into the river, and Christian is frozen with fear.

One year later, Christian is still wracked with guilt over Freya’s death. Now, he’s a freshman at Arizona State University, and he thinks he sees Freya on campus. It can’t be her. Freya is dead, after all. They found her body. Didn’t they? Christian follows Madison, the girl who looks like Freya, everywhere. He was certain Freya had died that day, but now he’s certain Madison is Freya. Will he ever find out what’s real? Or will his obsession be his downfall?

About the author:

Dusti Bowling is the award-winning, bestselling author of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus, The Beat I Drum, 24 Hours in Nowhere, The Canyon's Edge, Across the Desert, Dust, and the Aven Green chapter book series.

Dusti's books have won the Reading the West Award, the Sakura Medal, a Golden Kite Honor, the William Allen White Children's Book Award, and have been nominated for over fifty state awards. Her books are Junior Library Guild Selections and have been named best books of the year by the Chicago Public Library, Kirkus, Bank Street College of Education, A Mighty Girl, Shelf Awareness, and many more.

Dusti currently lives in Eagar, Arizona with her husband, three daughters, and a bunch of farm animals.

Follow her on X at @DustiBowling.

About the moderator:

Adrianna Cuevas is a middle school ESOL teacher who currently resides outside of Austin, Texas with her husband and son. When not cheering for the Florida Panthers hockey team, listening to audiobooks at 2.3x speed, and crocheting blankets too warm for Texas heat, she is writing her next middle grade novel.

By purchasing a book from BookPeople, you are not only supporting a local, independent business – you’re showing publishers that they should continue sending authors to BookPeople.

Thank you for supporting Dusti Bowling, Adrianna Cuevas, and your local independent bookstore!

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Event venue & nearby stays

BookPeople, 603 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, United States

Tickets USD 0.00
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