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Jul 18, 2011

Barbara rated it:

Seventeen-year-old Jenna is concerned about the environment, and she and her BFF Olivia have a serious commitment to the green movement. When her parents spend the summer in separate places, Jenna ends up in Canada with her godmother who is preparing to open a bed-and-breakfast business. Other than her, no one seems to be welcoming Jenna with open arms. When she finally makes a romantic connection, the boy in question prefers to keep their romance a secret, which Jenna says she is fine with. But More...

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Jun 19, 2011

Kerri rated it:

Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots is a fun quick read. I enjoyed the many crazy situations that the main character Jenna finds herself in and the positive way that she faces each scenario head on. I also liked that she was a green teen but found that her hardcore environmentalist attitude was a little unbelievable for someone so young. I might have believed it had her parents been green enthusiasts and acting as her role models but they weren't and the book never really explains wh More...

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Jun 03, 2010

Debbie rated it:

Green Teen activist, Jenna, convinces her parents to let her go visit her godmother, Susie, in rural Canada in order to avoid spending her summer in Florida with her grandmother and the rest of her grandmother’s elderly friends. She is convinced that she will be able to commune with nature and view all of the things she has been fighting to protect. Jenna quickly finds that it’s not what she was expecting as she encounters bears, moose, her godmother’s goth step-daughter and a trio of handsome More...

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Apr 26, 2010

Liz rated it:

After reading this book, I am a big fan of McDonald's writing style. Her ironic humor really sat well with me. The characters were very believable and did not seem forced (with the exception of Olivia... a rather minor character). And the moral of the story is shown without forcing it down the throats of readers.

So why did I give this book 3 stars? There were two things that really did not sit well with me. 1) A main character undergoes a major attitude shift in the book, but i More...

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Mar 21, 2010

Christina (Reading Extensively) rated it:

Jenna is a die hard member of Green Teen, her high school's conservation activist group. When faced with a summer at her grandmother's Florida retirement community, Jenna convinces her parents to let her go stay with her godmother Susie in Canada. This is her chance to put her eco-friendly ideals to work as Jenna tries to convince Susi's family and friends about the importance of conservation. Unfortunately the Stillwater community does not feel the same way, especially Susi's unfriendly stepdau More...

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Mar 11, 2010

Meg rated it:

Abby McDonald’s Boys, Bears, And A Serious Pair Of Hiking Boots is a fun adventure centering around a strong-willed, sensitive and intelligent teen. Jenna is an assertive narrator who isn’t content blending into the pack — but isn’t a troublemaker, either. As a narrator, I appreciated her humorous and funny take on life in Canada, which is decidedly different from the halls of her New Jersey high school.

The progression of Jenna as a character is really what made this book for me. She More...

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Sep 15, 2011

Audrey rated it:

Title: Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots
Author: Abby McDonald
Genre: YA fiction
Publishing Information: 304 pages; April 13th, 2010 by Candlewick Press
Series: Stand alone

Where I got it: E-book from the library

One sentence: When Green Teen activist Jenna travels from New Jersey to Canada for the summer, she learns infinite amounts about wilderness survival, boys and compromise.

Themes: Summer, romance, environmentalism
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Sep 08, 2011

Bridgid rated it:

I was super excited to read this book. It's set in British Columbia, my second home, AND it involves a girl learning about boys, bears, and the great outdoors.

In general, the story didn't disappoint.

Main character, Jenna, is a suburban "Green Teen." She demonstrates with her other green teens, demanding environmental awareness, etc. with her best friend. Desperate to avoid a summer in Florida with her mom and grandma, Jenna heads to British Columbia, where her god More...

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Jul 20, 2010

Christi rated it:

Summary: Jenna is a Green Teen environmentalist from the Jersey ‘burbs. She and her friend Olivia have their whole summer planned out until Jenna’s parents decide otherwise. With her dad going to work in Europe for the summer and her mom moving to her grandmother’s house in Florida, Jenna opts to stay with her godmother Susie and her husband and stepdaughter in Canada. Susie is remodeling a bed and breakfast on a tight budget and has no time to listen to Jenna’s eco-friendly suggestions. Jenna a More...

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Feb 12, 2010

Christina rated it:

Once I saw the cover of this book, I knew I would enjoy it. I don't think I've read a YA book that has focused this much on nature. I applaud Abby McDonald as it was such a nice change of pace. After reading a few pages, I was instantly fond of the main character, Jenna. In my opinion, compared to many of the other female protagonists out there, Jenna is such a good role model for young women and is extremely easy to relate to. When Jenna arrives in Canada, it's like another world for her. A More...

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Oct 20, 2009

Wendy rated it:

None of you who know me will be surprised that this book caught my eye on a table of ARCs. I thoroughly enjoyed this story of a suburban-style environmentalist encountering small-town British Columbia. It's chick-lit to the max, and Jenna's super-perky voice can be hard to handle, but the supporting characters are interesting, real, and well-drawn. I loved that it took place in actual identifiable British Columbia instead of miscellaneous blandsville. I don't think we have enough books that More...

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Apr 12, 2010

Raquelle rated it:

I was a very environmentally-minded teen. I majored in Marine & Environmental Science at my vocational High School and was even co-president of the Environmental Science club. I was big into wolves, the World Wild Life fund, hiking, conservation, recycling, etc. Unlike Jenna, the protagonist of this book, I was into nature AND into environmentalism. You can't really separate the two. And Jenna did. Her enthusiasm arose out of a need to protest; to be passionate about something.

I woul More...

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Mar 29, 2010

Erica rated it:

Contemporary fiction is my favorite subgenre of YA to read, so I was excited to dive into this one. It has all the elements I love: a main character who is well-intentioned but also a little bit annoying, a fish-out-of-water story, a girl surrounded by boys who are friends, and character growth that amounts to more than a girl discovering she is beautiful, after all.
Jenna’s involvement in the Green Teen group at school is mostly comprised of demonstrations against projects that could poten More...

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Jun 01, 2010

Tammy rated it:

My thoughts:
When I read the first chapter I was a little worried that Jenna would be an eco-terrorist and the whole book would be about Green Teen saving some back woods town from itself. Well I am happy to say that there was so much more to this book and Jenna then that.
Jenna and her best friend Olivia have their hearts set on spending the summer taking up environmental issues with Earth Now as interns. Then Jenna learns that her dad has accepted a job overseas and her mom wants th More...

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Aug 10, 2010

Monica rated it:

Abby McDonald does it again - another deft exploration of growing up, this time about developing nuance and finding courage. Jenna doesn't know that she's going to learn about the problematic consequences of her hard-line environmentalist stand, nor does she know that her summer in Canada will bring her the courage to confront interpersonal challenges and face up to her fears about her parents' future, but she will. Also contains one of the best ending structures I have ever encountered: one tha More...

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Apr 29, 2010

Carla rated it:

When you first pick up a book, it's all exicitng, you get to meet these new characters your going to spend hours getting to know. You feel all giddy inside and nervious about how the book is going to speak to you as a reader. This is how this book made me feel for the first hundred pages. For the main part, I loved the beginning, the girl travelling to the wilderness, the scenery almost coming to life on the page, the new characters you want to be friends with. But then, it just flipped. I More...

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Apr 10, 2010

Kelsey rated it:

I remember when I first read the synopsis of this and thought- ohhh this sounds so good! Well, it was! Abby McDonald definitely did not disappoint with Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots. Jenna was a terrific main character and narrator- readers could understand and relate to her and she was someone I would love to know in real life. All of the characters were very well developed and likable, although some went through big changes- whether going from nice to mean, or mean to nice, More...

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Jul 15, 2010

Adriana rated it:

Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots was a really fun, adventurous read with a few more serious matters thrown in.

Jenna is a 17 year old girl who grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey. She's a member of a Green Teen, a club for environmentalists who hold protests and spends her free time sending letters to government officials to protect the environment. Over summer she chooses to spend time with her godmother, Susie, Susie's new husband, and his daughter Fiona in Canada wi More...

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Apr 20, 2011

Maggie rated it:

A fun and quick read. Jenna was just so adorable and naive but she was smart, and learned how to thrive in the "wilderness". Fiona was a bit flat for me in the beginning, but she did change and grow on me. Nothing too deep or heavy (the environmental message was handled well in my opinion), definitely an enjoyable vacation/change from the vampire/dystopia read.

Two small negatives: on the audio (I started it, but finished with the hardcover version), Livvy is very Valley More...

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Sep 26, 2011

Ambur rated it:

Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots is about Jenna, a vegetarian with some extreme eco-ideals. To avoid being stuck in Florida with her mother and grandmother for the summer, as her parents planned, she concocts some plans of her own. These plans involve going to stay with her godmother, Susie, her new husband, and her stepdaughter in Canada. While there, Jenna learns how to deal with nature, unfriendly new acquaintances, and she finds a survival guide, which she applies to surviving More...

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Jun 29, 2011

mfay2 rated it:

Jenna is a seventeen year old girl from New Jersey. But she’s not like any other teenage girl. She belongs to a school team named Green Teen, she fights to protect the environment and is a vegetarian. She had plans for the summer with her best friend, Olivia; so when her mom says that she has to go with her to visit her grandmother in Orlando, she and her best friend come up with the idea to turn it around and instead go visit her godmother Susie, for the summer in Canada.

With her be More...

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Apr 25, 2010

Shesten rated it:

Plot Sketch: Jenna is a pivotal member of the student-run Green Teen organization at her high school in New Jersey. She looks out for nature in any way she can, and even sports an oh so controversial Greenpeace tee. Her best friend, Olivia is also part of the group. When Jenna's parents decide to spend the summer apart, and by apart we mean continents apart, Jenna gets stuck in the middle. Not wanting to spend her summer thinking about the potential consequences of her parents' separation, she b More...

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May 16, 2010

Shanyn rated it:

Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots was a very cute book. We are in the mind of Jenna, who is big into the environment and recycling. The beginning of the book introduces us to the Green Teen group at her school, who seems pretty radical to me (the recyclers at my school worked on getting the school to recycle more... this Green Teen group was out causing a ruckus).

We soon are transported to Canada, where Jenna will be staying for the summer. I liked reading about her adj More...

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Mar 30, 2010

April rated it:

Boys, Bears, And A Serious Pair Of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald is pretty much exactly what it appears to be, a cute book about a girl who goes into the wilderness. To be honest, I thought this book did an excellent job of serving it's purpose. It kept me entertained, I awwwwed in the right places, and definitely enjoyed the romance as well as the twists.

Jenna, our intrepid main character, hails from New Jersey. She is leader of this group of students called the Green Teens which ba More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Mar 11, 2010

Lori (Pure Imagination) rated it:

This is one of those books. One that I pick up thinking it will be fluff and a quick mindless read. This is also one of those books that I was really wrong about! I should really stop having these preconceptions but then what fun would it be when a book really surprises me? Because that's what this book did.

In the blurb up there it says "Can a boy-hungry Jersey girl survive the wilds of Canada" I think that is what threw me off about this book. I was expecting a boy crazy, More...

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Aug 14, 2010

Nancy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Sep 15, 2011

Ellie ♥ rated it:

It's so funny! I love the book, not just because of the way it is written, but also because of the lesson behind it.

Sure enough, Jenna's struggle to fit in since she started high school up to her summer during sophomore years happens to most of us teens. I can sympathize why she was so obsessed with that Green Teen movement. It's pretty good that she decided to go to her godmother's for summer. Mind you, I love each and every adventure she had there (Oh yeah, including those times wh More...

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Oct 15, 2010

Suzanne rated it:

Cute for what it is: a light teen romance/realistic novel. Jenna works for her NJ high school's environmental club, but she's not sure she is ready for the wilds of British Columbia when she is farmed off by parents who might or might not be getting a divorce. Staying with a godmother who is nearly married and working hard to open a Bed and Breakfast while coping with a miserable new step-daughter, Jenna she's what it's like to get up close and personal with woods, mountains, moose, and the loca More...

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Nov 10, 2010

Bekah rated it:

This is a perfect fluff read! I read it in one day, starting in the morning sitting on Dowdy Lake's beach and finishing at who knows what time in bed that night/morning. :) So, definitely a page turner and I thought the author did a great job on portraying the protagonist learning to see outside her point of view. This is a typical realistic YA novel so it has some plugs for premarital sex and the token gay character (which- whatever- i've just noticed more and more books have a token gay cou More...

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Feb 26, 2011

Madisyn rated it:

This book was awesome. This being the first book that I've read by Abby McDonald I wasn't sure what to expect, especially with writing style. I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I liked the way she wrote everything, to me, went rather smoothly. I thought the idea of the book was different and refreshing, I throughly enjoyed it.

The book starts off with our protagonist Jenna in school, waiting anxiously to get out and start another protest with her best friend Olivia. Her being More...

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