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Wild Bird
From the award-winning author of The Running Dream and Flipped comes a remarkable portrait of a girl who has hit rock bottom but begins a climb back to herself at a wilderness survival camp.
3:47 a.m. That’s when they come for Wren Clemmens. She’s hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who’ve gone so far off the rails, their parents don’t know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right.
The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can’t put up a tent. And bitter won’t start a fire. Wren’s going to have to admit she needs help if she’s going to survive.
"I read Wild Bird in one long, mesmerized gulp. Wren will break your heart—and then mend it." —Nancy Werlin, National Book Award finalist for The Rules of Survival
"Van Draanen’s Wren is real and relatable, and readers will root for her." — VOYA, starred review
3:47 a.m. That’s when they come for Wren Clemmens. She’s hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who’ve gone so far off the rails, their parents don’t know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right.
The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can’t put up a tent. And bitter won’t start a fire. Wren’s going to have to admit she needs help if she’s going to survive.
"I read Wild Bird in one long, mesmerized gulp. Wren will break your heart—and then mend it." —Nancy Werlin, National Book Award finalist for The Rules of Survival
"Van Draanen’s Wren is real and relatable, and readers will root for her." — VOYA, starred review
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2017
401 people are currently reading
5711 people want to read
About the author
Wendelin Van Draanen
54 books2,210 followersWendelin Van Draanen has written more than thirty novels for young readers and teens. She is the author of the 18-book Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes series, and wrote Flipped which was named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century by SLJ, and became a Warner Brothers feature film with Rob Reiner directing. Her novel The Running Dream was awarded ALA’s Schneider Family Award for its portrayal of the disability experience.
Van Draanen's latest book, Hope in the Mail, is part memoir, part writing guided, designed to encourage aspiring writers to pursue their dream.
Van Draanen is also the author of two short chapter-book series. The Gecko & Sticky books, are fun read-alouds, perfect for reluctant readers, and the Shredderman books—featuring a boy who deals with a bully—received the Christopher Award for “affirming the highest values of the human spirit” and became a Nickelodeon made-for-TV movie.
Van Draanen was a classroom teacher for fifteen years. She and her husband reside in California and have two sons.
Van Draanen's latest book, Hope in the Mail, is part memoir, part writing guided, designed to encourage aspiring writers to pursue their dream.
Van Draanen is also the author of two short chapter-book series. The Gecko & Sticky books, are fun read-alouds, perfect for reluctant readers, and the Shredderman books—featuring a boy who deals with a bully—received the Christopher Award for “affirming the highest values of the human spirit” and became a Nickelodeon made-for-TV movie.
Van Draanen was a classroom teacher for fifteen years. She and her husband reside in California and have two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,221 reviews
February 6, 2017
"I'm blindfolded for what feels like an hour, jostled around on a dirt road, breathing in dust, feeling like I'm on a sketchy version of Disneyland's Raiders of the Lost Ark ride. Like in another turn we might go crashing down a mountain. Then I remind myself. We're in the desert. The flat, ugly desert."
I recently received an ARC for Wild Bird, and I spent three hours crying, laughing, cheering, tensing up, shouting, and saying WOW over and over again as I read this incredibly honest, powerful, and compelling story of one teenager's journey from destruction, loneliness, and bitterness to acceptance, strength, and courage.
Wendelin Van Draanen takes her readers on an unforgettable ride through the Utah desert as Wren experiences eight weeks of survival camping in a "Desert Prison" and learns to start a fire in the wilderness and inside herself. As the story unfolds, Wren's anger, destructive behavior, and desperate cry for friendship, love, and understanding are revealed with poignant, insightful storytelling and masterful word imagery.
The path to redemption for Wren is a long and arduous adventure that every teenager and adult should experience with her as she leaves the comforts and turmoil of home behind...to venture into the unknown and come face-to-face with physical challenges and with the reality of the person she has become.
The research and attention to detail that went into describing Wren's downward spiral and her trek into the expansive Utah terrain make this an exceptional read and destined to be an award winner. I love how the author beautifully weaves Native American legends, told by Mokov, a Paiute storyteller, into the book in a very meaningful way.
Van Draanen creates an intense, gritty, thought-provoking story that lends itself to in-depth discussion. It does not cross the line with inappropriate language, violence, or gratuitous scenes. It is a novel that will leave you breathless and satisfied at the same time. I found myself underlining passages and re-reading paragraphs to get the full impact of the messages in them.
Wild Bird is a YA contemporary fiction masterpiece and a must read that will appeal to both teen and adult audiences. There is no doubt that it is destined to be a best fiction for young adults selection for 2018. I look forward to September 5th when I can purchase copies to place on my school's library shelves.
I recently received an ARC for Wild Bird, and I spent three hours crying, laughing, cheering, tensing up, shouting, and saying WOW over and over again as I read this incredibly honest, powerful, and compelling story of one teenager's journey from destruction, loneliness, and bitterness to acceptance, strength, and courage.
Wendelin Van Draanen takes her readers on an unforgettable ride through the Utah desert as Wren experiences eight weeks of survival camping in a "Desert Prison" and learns to start a fire in the wilderness and inside herself. As the story unfolds, Wren's anger, destructive behavior, and desperate cry for friendship, love, and understanding are revealed with poignant, insightful storytelling and masterful word imagery.
The path to redemption for Wren is a long and arduous adventure that every teenager and adult should experience with her as she leaves the comforts and turmoil of home behind...to venture into the unknown and come face-to-face with physical challenges and with the reality of the person she has become.
The research and attention to detail that went into describing Wren's downward spiral and her trek into the expansive Utah terrain make this an exceptional read and destined to be an award winner. I love how the author beautifully weaves Native American legends, told by Mokov, a Paiute storyteller, into the book in a very meaningful way.
Van Draanen creates an intense, gritty, thought-provoking story that lends itself to in-depth discussion. It does not cross the line with inappropriate language, violence, or gratuitous scenes. It is a novel that will leave you breathless and satisfied at the same time. I found myself underlining passages and re-reading paragraphs to get the full impact of the messages in them.
Wild Bird is a YA contemporary fiction masterpiece and a must read that will appeal to both teen and adult audiences. There is no doubt that it is destined to be a best fiction for young adults selection for 2018. I look forward to September 5th when I can purchase copies to place on my school's library shelves.
June 30, 2021
I loved it. Great plot; great sense of humor and super writing.
A coming of age story that shows a total change of heart.
Fast paced! Loved it!
Highly recommend.
A coming of age story that shows a total change of heart.
Fast paced! Loved it!
Highly recommend.
July 26, 2017
Richie’s Picks: WILD BIRD by Wendelin Van Draanen, Random House/Alfred A. Knopf, September 2017, 320p., ISBN: 978-1-101-94044-0
“You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend”
-- Bob Dylan, “Positively 4th Street” (1965)
“We start near some green plants at the base of a rocky area and work our way up to a small pool of rainwater trapped in the rocks. ‘Since it’s rainwater and pretty fresh, you can just drink it,’ she tells me. ‘The water we’ll get from under the riverbed we have to filter and purify.’
I’m dying for a drink. And I can see the water, but the opening’s not wide enough to dip a canteen or billypot inside.
She opens one of her cargo pockets and stretches out her length of plastic tubing ‘Shall we?’
Oh! A straw.
I stick one end of mind down into the water and suck on the other. What comes up is cool and clear. It tastes, feels, wonderful.
Dvorka and I look at each other while we drink, and I flash back to being a kid, sharing a smoothie with my mother at the Juice Jive in the City.
All of a sudden my eyes are stinging and there’s a lump in my throat and I can’t drink anymore.
Dvorka stops drinking too. ‘You okay?’
I nod and then shake my head and then nod again.
She waits, then says, ‘Want to talk about it?’
I shake my head and go back to drinking, concentrating on the end of my tube instead of looking at her. She doesn’t pry, doesn’t make me lie. It almost makes me want to tell the truth.”
Wendelin Van Draanen’s WILD BIRD quickly captivated me with its humorous observations. But it was the gradually-revealed vulnerability, pain, and risk-taking behavior of main character Wren Clemmens that made this a memorable, can’t-put-it-down tale.
Wren is a high school freshman who has already spent years smoking weed and drinking booze with Meadow, an older girl she met in middle school. Bit by bit, we come to learn about the stunning incidents that made Wren’s parents decide that they were out of options. They fork out eight thousand dollars to have Wren involuntarily relocated into an eight-week get-it-together teen “wilderness therapy program” in the middle of Nowhere, Utah. The story begins as Wren--still wasted from the previous evening’s escapades--is awokened and taken away in the middle of the night.
Wren is forced to take long hikes, learn how to make fires without matches or lighters, dig latrines, and live without her cell phone. During these weeks of hard work and contemplation in the wilderness, she comes to recognize that she’s been repeatedly taken advantage of by her on-again-off-again friend Meadow and by Nico, the druggie high school senior whose bits of attention Wren has cherished. Some of what Wren has been willing to do for Meadow’s and Nico’s approval is jaw-dropping. I’m dying to get this book into the hands of some tween readers, monitor their reactions to Wren’s past behavior, and learn what they imagine they’d be willing to do for peer approval.
“‘Sometimes it doesn’t take much for what’s dormant to bloom.’”
It takes Wren awhile to face up to her behavior, but by the end of her eight-week ordeal, she gets there. She also comes to confide in and bond with some of her fellow troubled teens and thereby begins to understand what real friendship is all about.
The publisher age recommendation for WILD BIRD is the standard “12 and up” category. However, given the story’s lack of profanity and the absence of sexual behavior, I’d want to also made this one available to ten and eleven year-old readers. I’ve known girls like Wren who were drinking and smoking weed by age twelve. They and others could well be spared an experience like Wren’s by reading this cautionary tale about the impact of picking the wrong friends.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
“You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend”
-- Bob Dylan, “Positively 4th Street” (1965)
“We start near some green plants at the base of a rocky area and work our way up to a small pool of rainwater trapped in the rocks. ‘Since it’s rainwater and pretty fresh, you can just drink it,’ she tells me. ‘The water we’ll get from under the riverbed we have to filter and purify.’
I’m dying for a drink. And I can see the water, but the opening’s not wide enough to dip a canteen or billypot inside.
She opens one of her cargo pockets and stretches out her length of plastic tubing ‘Shall we?’
Oh! A straw.
I stick one end of mind down into the water and suck on the other. What comes up is cool and clear. It tastes, feels, wonderful.
Dvorka and I look at each other while we drink, and I flash back to being a kid, sharing a smoothie with my mother at the Juice Jive in the City.
All of a sudden my eyes are stinging and there’s a lump in my throat and I can’t drink anymore.
Dvorka stops drinking too. ‘You okay?’
I nod and then shake my head and then nod again.
She waits, then says, ‘Want to talk about it?’
I shake my head and go back to drinking, concentrating on the end of my tube instead of looking at her. She doesn’t pry, doesn’t make me lie. It almost makes me want to tell the truth.”
Wendelin Van Draanen’s WILD BIRD quickly captivated me with its humorous observations. But it was the gradually-revealed vulnerability, pain, and risk-taking behavior of main character Wren Clemmens that made this a memorable, can’t-put-it-down tale.
Wren is a high school freshman who has already spent years smoking weed and drinking booze with Meadow, an older girl she met in middle school. Bit by bit, we come to learn about the stunning incidents that made Wren’s parents decide that they were out of options. They fork out eight thousand dollars to have Wren involuntarily relocated into an eight-week get-it-together teen “wilderness therapy program” in the middle of Nowhere, Utah. The story begins as Wren--still wasted from the previous evening’s escapades--is awokened and taken away in the middle of the night.
Wren is forced to take long hikes, learn how to make fires without matches or lighters, dig latrines, and live without her cell phone. During these weeks of hard work and contemplation in the wilderness, she comes to recognize that she’s been repeatedly taken advantage of by her on-again-off-again friend Meadow and by Nico, the druggie high school senior whose bits of attention Wren has cherished. Some of what Wren has been willing to do for Meadow’s and Nico’s approval is jaw-dropping. I’m dying to get this book into the hands of some tween readers, monitor their reactions to Wren’s past behavior, and learn what they imagine they’d be willing to do for peer approval.
“‘Sometimes it doesn’t take much for what’s dormant to bloom.’”
It takes Wren awhile to face up to her behavior, but by the end of her eight-week ordeal, she gets there. She also comes to confide in and bond with some of her fellow troubled teens and thereby begins to understand what real friendship is all about.
The publisher age recommendation for WILD BIRD is the standard “12 and up” category. However, given the story’s lack of profanity and the absence of sexual behavior, I’d want to also made this one available to ten and eleven year-old readers. I’ve known girls like Wren who were drinking and smoking weed by age twelve. They and others could well be spared an experience like Wren’s by reading this cautionary tale about the impact of picking the wrong friends.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
June 19, 2019
Hoo boy. This is a bad book and we should not give it to children. I don't normally give star ratings to things I didn't like, but this was egregious.
"Wild Bird" is, as another user explained, a propaganda piece for the "troubled teen" industry -- a mostly unregulated, extremely lucrative industry that abuses and kills actual children. It is not okay that this book exists. It is not okay that it's on the Caudill list (!), and I'm assuming it's just that the folks on the committee didn't realize that "wilderness therapy camps" a) really exist, b) have absolutely zero evidence to support their efficacy, and c) often leave "graduates" so traumatized that they have to spend years in therapy.
At various points Wren yells things like "this is child abuse" and "how is this legal?" I'm glad Wren knows that this is child abuse and shouldn't be legal, because the author doesn't seem to. What happens to her in this book is child abuse. It should be illegal. It definitely shouldn't be glorified the way it is here. Like, what is the lesson?!?! Cry for help all you want, kid, nobody is listening. Y.I.K.E.S.
Part of what's frustrating to me is that being in the wilderness really can be transformative. Books where people "find themselves" in nature are a whole thing, and with good reason. This book does that entire genre a disservice.
Also Wren's parents are terrible human beings. I'm old enough that I usually identify with the parents over the teens in YA novels but NOPE NOT HERE. The after-school-specialness of the whole thing was brutal, honestly. How many teenage pot smokers end up running heroin?! Marijuana is not a gateway drug, etc.
Plus there's a whole deeply racist subplot about a magical Native American who shows up to tell legends and give folksy advice (Debbie Reese, reliably, has more to say about this and is a better person to listen to than me.)
HARD PASS. If kiddos want to read this I'll be including copies of some news articles so they can find out the real story behind these organizations.
"Wild Bird" is, as another user explained, a propaganda piece for the "troubled teen" industry -- a mostly unregulated, extremely lucrative industry that abuses and kills actual children. It is not okay that this book exists. It is not okay that it's on the Caudill list (!), and I'm assuming it's just that the folks on the committee didn't realize that "wilderness therapy camps" a) really exist, b) have absolutely zero evidence to support their efficacy, and c) often leave "graduates" so traumatized that they have to spend years in therapy.
At various points Wren yells things like "this is child abuse" and "how is this legal?" I'm glad Wren knows that this is child abuse and shouldn't be legal, because the author doesn't seem to. What happens to her in this book is child abuse. It should be illegal. It definitely shouldn't be glorified the way it is here. Like, what is the lesson?!?! Cry for help all you want, kid, nobody is listening. Y.I.K.E.S.
Part of what's frustrating to me is that being in the wilderness really can be transformative. Books where people "find themselves" in nature are a whole thing, and with good reason. This book does that entire genre a disservice.
Also Wren's parents are terrible human beings. I'm old enough that I usually identify with the parents over the teens in YA novels but NOPE NOT HERE. The after-school-specialness of the whole thing was brutal, honestly. How many teenage pot smokers end up running heroin?! Marijuana is not a gateway drug, etc.
Plus there's a whole deeply racist subplot about a magical Native American who shows up to tell legends and give folksy advice (Debbie Reese, reliably, has more to say about this and is a better person to listen to than me.)
HARD PASS. If kiddos want to read this I'll be including copies of some news articles so they can find out the real story behind these organizations.
February 1, 2024
The Troubled Teen Industry is problematic and dangerous, and this book glorifies it. DO NOT read this. I will leave reviews that discuss the problems of this book better than I can.
Adrienne’s Goodreads Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Aren’s Goodreads Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Cassy’s Goodreads Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
goodbyewaffles’s Goodreads Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Adrienne’s Goodreads Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Aren’s Goodreads Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Cassy’s Goodreads Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
goodbyewaffles’s Goodreads Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2019
I loved this because it was so unexpected. I loved the humor. This book had me laughing out loud more than once. I loved the MC's sarcasm and her obliviousness to the feelings of others. It was really funny. I also liked Wren's journey as she went through her forced 8 week ordeal at a wilderness therapy camp in the Utah desert.
The author added many little touches that added heart and insight throughout the story. For example, the relationship Wren had with her little brother was sweet, the way she recognized when a person wasn't a real friend but was perplexed about what to do about it and the complexity of the relationship with her parental unit.
Some of this was over the top, but it was an entertaining read. So 5 stars because I'd read this again.
The author added many little touches that added heart and insight throughout the story. For example, the relationship Wren had with her little brother was sweet, the way she recognized when a person wasn't a real friend but was perplexed about what to do about it and the complexity of the relationship with her parental unit.
Some of this was over the top, but it was an entertaining read. So 5 stars because I'd read this again.
October 11, 2017
I had to give it a rating and so I rated it 1 when I'd like to rate it minus 100, which is not on the list. This is nothing more than a propaganda piece for camps that torture and kill teens, These are not camps where teens learn skills. The writer was a counselor who probably sent kids to those death camps. Kids come back from those camps, tortured or in body bags. Those who come back do not recover emotionally and they do not forgive their parents. In these camps, teens are raped, dehydrated, starved, hogtied, forced to drink their own vomit, beaten and injured in disgusting ways. There have been Congressional hearings and the GAO has admitted they are torture camps. Unfortunately, they are not regulated. They are completely unregulated. Parents are angry over the body bags as they paid to have their kids sent there because they believed the brochures and propaganda given to them like people like the author of this book. Those running them aren't even properly credentialed. These camps are NOT Yosemite and they should all be closed down. Ask the NYRA (National Youth Rights Association) or google torture and wilderness camps. Any parent who would send their child to one of these camps is someone who cannot handle the job of parenting. These programs are child abuse.
January 25, 2022
I found this recommended on a Newbery blog about six months ago, and I have no idea why. Like Vincent and Theo, I don't see it fit the age bracket at all. My first two potential Newbery reads are therefore 0-2 (much like the Yankees this ALDS), and I'd be kinda depressed if not for Patina. (Patina is SO GREAT.)
Anyway, I found this to be overwritten (decent pacing, though!) but mostly, I found this spectacularly, insultingly unbelievable. Eight weeks?!
Anyway, I found this to be overwritten (decent pacing, though!) but mostly, I found this spectacularly, insultingly unbelievable. Eight weeks?!
April 4, 2018
The trope of the mysterious Native American - in touch with the land, tells folksy legends and leads people on desert quests to find themselves - soured this one for me.
June 3, 2020
Would've been 2 stars but the stereotyping of Native Americans is not now nor will it ever be a good idea.
July 5, 2021
This books is written in a way that glorifies teen abuse. It is written about a teen girl who is struggling with drug abuse and a toxic abusive friend. In the book her parents find out about these issues and end up having her kidnapped and sent to a troubled teen wilderness camp. She is taken across the country and subjected to neglectful and abusive situation. This is a reality that many teens and children go through every year in real life. Teens are traumatized, starved and leave these camps with PTSD and physical illnesses cause by neglect. Teens have DIED because of these programs and I find it disgusting that the author wrote this book in a way that glorifies that. Do not read this book or support the author. If you would like to know more about the reality of these camps you can go to youthrights.org but dont not let this book trick you into thinking that this is acceptable treatment of children.
January 5, 2026
3.5 stars
Very powerful Y.A. fiction.
A teenage girl who has made some very bad choices is put into a “boot camp” for troubled youth.
Reading this as an adult, and a mom, I felt pain for Wren’s family. What an agonizing decision to have to make; send your child away and make her hate you, or don’t, and watch her ruin her life…
Red Flags:
Teenage drinking, drug use, suicidal thoughts
Very powerful Y.A. fiction.
A teenage girl who has made some very bad choices is put into a “boot camp” for troubled youth.
Reading this as an adult, and a mom, I felt pain for Wren’s family. What an agonizing decision to have to make; send your child away and make her hate you, or don’t, and watch her ruin her life…
Red Flags:
Teenage drinking, drug use, suicidal thoughts
February 28, 2019
Made me cry! Loved it!
September 1, 2017
“Out here Mother Nature is my judge and jury, and no amount of objecting or redirecting or even being out of order will get me out of this. The only way to survive my sentence is to serve it.”
I truly, truly enjoyed this novel. Having been through extremely tough experiences with people who are very similar to Wren and her fellow "inmates," Wild Bird touched me in a much deeper way that I expected it to. Van Draanen crafts a story that delves deeply into what makes us hurt and angry, as well as what helps us survive those emotions.
Kudos to the author for actually creating a believable fourteen-year-old character. Seriously, how many YA novels do we read that have teenagers who more closely resemble hardened, mature thirty-year-olds than young people? I consistently find myself rolling my eyes at characters we are supposed to believe are authentic representations of teenagers. Wild Bird, however, is full of young people that actually seem young. They are scared, selfish, and extremely immature. And guess what? I loved it. Van Draanen's story is so raw and realistic, and I appreciated every bit of her characters' development.
I think Van Draanen tackled a very tricky subject in a very adept manner. Writing about young girls, depression, drug abuse, and psychological dysfunction isn't easy. Too often, novels like this one come across as whiny or over-the-top. Wren isn't a devil, but she isn't a good person, either. I so so so appreciated that Van Draanen made it very clear that Wren isn't the victim here, but she is struggling and in pain. That's such a hard concept to portray, and I think she does it very well.
The whole nature aspect of the story really appealed to me. Sure, I've read novels about survival in the wild many times, but there was something different about this one. Wren's experience in the desert is both psychological and physical, and I liked seeing those two components play off of each other. I'm actually traveling to Utah quite soon, so the descriptions of the desert landscape also fascinated me.
Overall, I'd highly recommend Wild Bird to anyone in search of some quality realistic YA fiction. In fact, I'd recommend it to most teens, especially those who feel lost and alone. Not only is it informative and emotional, but it's also just downright entertaining at points. Two thumbs up!
May 7, 2018
#mystrangereading Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved loved loved this book. Wren goes through such an incredibly powerful journey of growth, healing and forgiveness. I love the honesty of her journey; I love the Native American influences, and I really enjoyed listening to this on @audible_com because I felt like it added to the story-telling aspect of her journey. If you enjoy realistic fiction and like stories of healing and empowerment, this read should be on your list! #bookstagram #bookworm #wildbird #lonestarlist #reading #bookstagramer #bookish #booksofinstagram #instabooks
October 24, 2021
(editing my review)
while this FICTIONAL book is written well, I've seen stories of REAL KIDS being ABUSED in camps like the one being depicted in this book. I won't support that and I don't condone the abuse of children. Let's educate ourselves on these issues.
while this FICTIONAL book is written well, I've seen stories of REAL KIDS being ABUSED in camps like the one being depicted in this book. I won't support that and I don't condone the abuse of children. Let's educate ourselves on these issues.
April 7, 2021
TLDR: Problematic. And boring.
Looking for a wilderness/survival camp for troubled youth story? Holes by Louis Sachar
Looking for a young reader book that addresses substance/alcohol abuse? Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
Rant Review:
Here we have a stereotypically written old, wise, mystical, storytelling American Indian who exists solely for the purpose of helping troubled kids on their journeys through oral storytelling and leading them into the wilderness before disappearing mysteriously into the surrounding nature. Plus, many of the main character's actions after her "quest" seem pretty culturally appropriative - ie. adding feathers to her braid.
This part of the story is incredibly relevant to Wren's growth in the book and the traditions of the Paiute Nation are so integral to this wilderness camp, yet not even mentioned on the synopsis on the cover.
The middle 100 pages or so were just boring. The main character, Wren, read very bland to me. The only character with some depth was Hannah.
*** SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT***
There was a camp counselor who we were told was Asian, but he got sick(?) and the other counselors acted all mysterious, but there was no resolution to this subplot (unless I just zoned out) which annoyed me.
While I didn't dislike Wren, I found it pretty harsh that after her breakthrough, she didn't even give her fake/ex friend Meadow the benefit of the doubt in her ability to change, saying that even 8 weeks in the desert wouldn't change who Meadow was. I feel like going through some major personal transformation one should realize all humans are capable of the same. This bothered me.
Several times during the 8-week wilderness camp Wren asks "how is this legal?" and I was often wondering the same thing:
- A 14 year old gets abducted by a man her parents hired to bring her to a wilderness camp because she carved a swastika into her grandmother's piano (sidebar: this point could/should have been written in a really beneficial way for young readers to understand the gravity of this action, however, the reader is just left to hopefully assume for themselves why it was such an awful thing to do...) and trashed the living room.
- She's left out on her own, at first with little to no guidance, know-how, or even water in the middle of the desert. Seems unnecessarily cruel.
- Wren is out in the desert (seemingly) alone and literally has to fight off coyotes in the spirit of transformation. Not saying that's not possible, I'm sure that is super empowering to survive through and definitely warrants personal growth. But again, she's 14 years old.
Why didn't the entire family, including Wren, go to family counseling before this major wilderness intervention? I think shipping your daughter off to the desert for 8 weeks should be a last resort/end of the rope kind of deal. Her family only went to counseling as a group AFTER she was out of the picture... But also the way therapy is discussed in this book, especially in a book for younger readers, makes me sincerely wish we would all please stop stigmatizing and invalidating the usefulness and necessity of good therapy.
I think I'm done now :)
Looking for a wilderness/survival camp for troubled youth story? Holes by Louis Sachar
Looking for a young reader book that addresses substance/alcohol abuse? Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
Rant Review:
Here we have a stereotypically written old, wise, mystical, storytelling American Indian who exists solely for the purpose of helping troubled kids on their journeys through oral storytelling and leading them into the wilderness before disappearing mysteriously into the surrounding nature. Plus, many of the main character's actions after her "quest" seem pretty culturally appropriative - ie. adding feathers to her braid.
This part of the story is incredibly relevant to Wren's growth in the book and the traditions of the Paiute Nation are so integral to this wilderness camp, yet not even mentioned on the synopsis on the cover.
The middle 100 pages or so were just boring. The main character, Wren, read very bland to me. The only character with some depth was Hannah.
*** SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT***
There was a camp counselor who we were told was Asian, but he got sick(?) and the other counselors acted all mysterious, but there was no resolution to this subplot (unless I just zoned out) which annoyed me.
While I didn't dislike Wren, I found it pretty harsh that after her breakthrough, she didn't even give her fake/ex friend Meadow the benefit of the doubt in her ability to change, saying that even 8 weeks in the desert wouldn't change who Meadow was. I feel like going through some major personal transformation one should realize all humans are capable of the same. This bothered me.
Several times during the 8-week wilderness camp Wren asks "how is this legal?" and I was often wondering the same thing:
- A 14 year old gets abducted by a man her parents hired to bring her to a wilderness camp because she carved a swastika into her grandmother's piano (sidebar: this point could/should have been written in a really beneficial way for young readers to understand the gravity of this action, however, the reader is just left to hopefully assume for themselves why it was such an awful thing to do...) and trashed the living room.
- She's left out on her own, at first with little to no guidance, know-how, or even water in the middle of the desert. Seems unnecessarily cruel.
- Wren is out in the desert (seemingly) alone and literally has to fight off coyotes in the spirit of transformation. Not saying that's not possible, I'm sure that is super empowering to survive through and definitely warrants personal growth. But again, she's 14 years old.
Why didn't the entire family, including Wren, go to family counseling before this major wilderness intervention? I think shipping your daughter off to the desert for 8 weeks should be a last resort/end of the rope kind of deal. Her family only went to counseling as a group AFTER she was out of the picture... But also the way therapy is discussed in this book, especially in a book for younger readers, makes me sincerely wish we would all please stop stigmatizing and invalidating the usefulness and necessity of good therapy.
I think I'm done now :)
September 6, 2023
Oh, my heart.. this was so sweet. 💜 If you've seen the movie "Wild" with Reece Witherspoon, it's something along those lines but about a teenager. The teenage aspect is why I docked one point off, but overall it was so sweet and meaningful. About the little things in life and the healing power of being in the nature. 🥲 And to think I was given this book because someone left it behind in their apartment while moving. I probably wouldve never read it otherwise. One mans trash is another mans treasure, for real this time 💫
September 9, 2025
Review #2 - September 2025
I want to be someone who remembers the stars in daylight. I want to be someone who looks up.
I'm trying to read more of the books my students recommend or are reading for different projects and this was one that a student said she loved. I hadn't thought about this book for awhile but I remembered loving it, so I decided to try it again. It's a great way to connect with students.
Wren has been getting closer and closer to major trouble. She's been drinking and smoking weed for a long time. She's hurt her family immeasurably and they've had enough. They are trying one last chance to help her and get her back on the right track.
They send Wren to a wilderness therapy camp in the deserts of Utah. Wren is furious and hates her family for sending her there, but as time goes on, Wren starts to examine her actions a little more closely.
Wren didn't feel as relatable to me as she did the first time I read this book. Probably just because life moved on, as it does. That does not diminish this book at all for me. I still thought it was well done and I love how the author builds up Wren's story. We jump right into Wren being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to head to the camp. As the story progresses we learn more and more about how Wren got to this point.
Great book! Definitely recommend.
Review #1 - January 2018
I'm completely happy that the first book of 2018 was a winner. I've read a bunch of stinkers lately, but this one had me hooked from page one.
Wren is a "troubled youth." It's a pretty common story, teenager hooks up with the "wrong crowd," hates the world, makes bad choices and "horrible" parents send her away to "get better."
After a move Wren finds herself in a new school struggling to make friends. A chance meeting in a bathroom leads her to Meadow. They connect over their unique names and Wren suddenly finds herself in Meadow's world of thievery, drugs, and hatred. Her parents have finally had enough and send her a desert rehabilitation program for teenagers. Now Wren is forced to spend eight weeks surviving in the Utah desert. (Not a position I would relish.)
I was never in Wren's position. I never went down the "wrong" path. Instead, I was Annabelle, the "narc" older sister. The one who did things "right" and couldn't understand what was wrong with her siblings. I found myself simultaneously sympathizing with Wren and hating her guts for being so selfish and awful. Just like my siblings (who I really do love to pieces, even though they've made crap decisions that have made things suck at times) Wren couldn't see how her decisions didn't just affect her. It tore her family apart and I've seen that first hand.
I loved the feeling in this book. It tore at my heart in ways that few books have lately. Van Draanen masterfully wove Wren's story about hope and trying again. I was truly rooting for Wren, just like I do for my brothers. Family is forgiveness and unconditional love. No matter how many mistakes people make, they deserve to have someone in their corner. It was easy to see why Wren hated her family, but it was just as easy to see how much they loved her.
Beautiful story that I would recommend to anyone.
I want to be someone who remembers the stars in daylight. I want to be someone who looks up.
I'm trying to read more of the books my students recommend or are reading for different projects and this was one that a student said she loved. I hadn't thought about this book for awhile but I remembered loving it, so I decided to try it again. It's a great way to connect with students.
Wren has been getting closer and closer to major trouble. She's been drinking and smoking weed for a long time. She's hurt her family immeasurably and they've had enough. They are trying one last chance to help her and get her back on the right track.
They send Wren to a wilderness therapy camp in the deserts of Utah. Wren is furious and hates her family for sending her there, but as time goes on, Wren starts to examine her actions a little more closely.
Wren didn't feel as relatable to me as she did the first time I read this book. Probably just because life moved on, as it does. That does not diminish this book at all for me. I still thought it was well done and I love how the author builds up Wren's story. We jump right into Wren being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to head to the camp. As the story progresses we learn more and more about how Wren got to this point.
Great book! Definitely recommend.
Review #1 - January 2018
I'm completely happy that the first book of 2018 was a winner. I've read a bunch of stinkers lately, but this one had me hooked from page one.
Wren is a "troubled youth." It's a pretty common story, teenager hooks up with the "wrong crowd," hates the world, makes bad choices and "horrible" parents send her away to "get better."
After a move Wren finds herself in a new school struggling to make friends. A chance meeting in a bathroom leads her to Meadow. They connect over their unique names and Wren suddenly finds herself in Meadow's world of thievery, drugs, and hatred. Her parents have finally had enough and send her a desert rehabilitation program for teenagers. Now Wren is forced to spend eight weeks surviving in the Utah desert. (Not a position I would relish.)
I was never in Wren's position. I never went down the "wrong" path. Instead, I was Annabelle, the "narc" older sister. The one who did things "right" and couldn't understand what was wrong with her siblings. I found myself simultaneously sympathizing with Wren and hating her guts for being so selfish and awful. Just like my siblings (who I really do love to pieces, even though they've made crap decisions that have made things suck at times) Wren couldn't see how her decisions didn't just affect her. It tore her family apart and I've seen that first hand.
I loved the feeling in this book. It tore at my heart in ways that few books have lately. Van Draanen masterfully wove Wren's story about hope and trying again. I was truly rooting for Wren, just like I do for my brothers. Family is forgiveness and unconditional love. No matter how many mistakes people make, they deserve to have someone in their corner. It was easy to see why Wren hated her family, but it was just as easy to see how much they loved her.
Beautiful story that I would recommend to anyone.
Read
August 13, 2017Wren is 14 and is hanging out with friends who do drugs and shoplift. Her parents have tried everything and, as the book opens, she is dragged out of bed and taken to the airport to travel to a therapeutic wilderness program.
This book follows the same pattern as similar stories I'm familiar with (Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein, and to a lesser degree, This is How it Happened by Paula Stokes) but I guess that's sort of the point. Wren went from closed and angry and blaming others to gaining confidence and better insight into her choices and relationships.
Longer review on the blog on August 31.
Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com or check out my Bookstagram!
I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher for possible review.
This book follows the same pattern as similar stories I'm familiar with (Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein, and to a lesser degree, This is How it Happened by Paula Stokes) but I guess that's sort of the point. Wren went from closed and angry and blaming others to gaining confidence and better insight into her choices and relationships.
Longer review on the blog on August 31.
Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com or check out my Bookstagram!
I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher for possible review.
March 26, 2018
This story resonated with me, broke my heart, and made me hopeful despite the knowledge that such endings are not always the case. A 14 year old girl who has dug herself into a hole of alcohol and drug abuse with the aberrant behaviors that often accompany those habits is sent to a wilderness therapy program in Utah. There she faces her truths and her perceptions of her relationships, while forging new relationships with others and the surrounding wilderness. I loved it.
November 1, 2018
Another solid read from Wendelin Van Draanen. As with The Running Dream, there's no profanity or sex in this book, which means despite the difficult subject matter (drug abuse), I wouldn't have any qualms about allowing my just-turned-thirteen-year-old to read it. Wren is a compelling character, and her journey toward maturity and recovery feels real, and yet is hopeful and inspiring.
April 10, 2021
I'm trying to find the right words to describe how much I love this book, but nothing is sufficient. It is stunning and powerful and perfect! Highly recommend to absolutely everyone!
September 11, 2022
I read this because my daughter’s class is reading it for 8th grade English. So I kind of read it through that lens, and I think it’s a good book for discussion around that age.
Wren is a 14 year old girl who has been going down the ‘wrong path,’ so her parents send her to a wilderness therapy camp. In some ways it’s very harsh, but the book presents the potential positive outcomes. Wren gives her perspective on how and why she made the choices that she did, and how she feels about her family, friends, and the wilderness camp. Parts are touching, but nothing too emotional. Parts are troublesome, but not overly detailed. It’s all a bit simplified, watered down, and makes things work out too easily. I’m not sure it’s very realistic. But I guess it gives the ending that I’d hope for.
Overall I think it’s a good exploration of some tough topics on a young adult level. Not comprehensive, but some good areas for starting discussions.
Wren is a 14 year old girl who has been going down the ‘wrong path,’ so her parents send her to a wilderness therapy camp. In some ways it’s very harsh, but the book presents the potential positive outcomes. Wren gives her perspective on how and why she made the choices that she did, and how she feels about her family, friends, and the wilderness camp. Parts are touching, but nothing too emotional. Parts are troublesome, but not overly detailed. It’s all a bit simplified, watered down, and makes things work out too easily. I’m not sure it’s very realistic. But I guess it gives the ending that I’d hope for.
Overall I think it’s a good exploration of some tough topics on a young adult level. Not comprehensive, but some good areas for starting discussions.
June 12, 2019
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
Actual Rating: 3.5
Short and Simple Review
This book features a teenage girl, Wren, being forced by her parents to attend a Utah wilderness camp after she gets into the wrong crowd. The book immediately starts with Wren being taken in the very early morning with no clue what is happening. There's a lot of denial on her part, and anger. Throughout a large part of the beginning, Wren yells at everyone and whines for help, not that I blame her. She has no idea how to survive in the Utah wilderness and she does have good reason to be upset. It was great, though, to see throughout this book how much she grows and changes. This book mostly takes place inside Wren's head, as sometimes not a whole lot happens in the wilderness, but it was interesting seeing the pieces fall into place as she slowly tells us what made her parents send her to the camp. One really great thing about this book as well is that there is no romance! This is a YA book where a teenage girl becomes self-reliant and changes without any love interest trying to "help" her. Overall this was a pretty decent read and great on audio.
Actual Rating: 3.5
Short and Simple Review
This book features a teenage girl, Wren, being forced by her parents to attend a Utah wilderness camp after she gets into the wrong crowd. The book immediately starts with Wren being taken in the very early morning with no clue what is happening. There's a lot of denial on her part, and anger. Throughout a large part of the beginning, Wren yells at everyone and whines for help, not that I blame her. She has no idea how to survive in the Utah wilderness and she does have good reason to be upset. It was great, though, to see throughout this book how much she grows and changes. This book mostly takes place inside Wren's head, as sometimes not a whole lot happens in the wilderness, but it was interesting seeing the pieces fall into place as she slowly tells us what made her parents send her to the camp. One really great thing about this book as well is that there is no romance! This is a YA book where a teenage girl becomes self-reliant and changes without any love interest trying to "help" her. Overall this was a pretty decent read and great on audio.
October 6, 2022
Anger is a dry riverbed. You should follow it only if it leads you to the springs of forgiveness.
July 3, 2018
This book was beyond amazing. I love the style of writing plus it has a heart breaking story. The character growth is remarkable and I absolutely love the ending; it made me cry tears of joy.
I definitely recommend this book and I will be reading more of this author in the near future.
I definitely recommend this book and I will be reading more of this author in the near future.
June 11, 2019
I've enjoyed this read. About a teen who decides to follow the wrong crowd and starts to make wrong choices. Parents are fed up and dont know what else to do, so they send her to a wilderness camp to hopefully help get her act together. It was a fun fast funny read.
4⭐⭐⭐⭐
4⭐⭐⭐⭐
September 9, 2021
I read as much as i was able to, but i felt like i couldnt keep reading it. I wasnt feeling the vibe on it!
June 10, 2020
Wren is a troubled teen who falls down the pit of drugs, hating her parents, her sister, etc. It's the typical "it's everybody else's fault, certainly not mine" story. So her parents arrange for her to be taken to a wilderness camp in the Utah desert - a place for troubled kids.
I love Wendelin Van Draanen's books - she's an amazing writer. She tackles difficult issues with grace and realism, always adding a touch of humor. She always leaves room for growth of her characters. I found myself wanting to get back to the story, despite not really enjoying the narrator's (Alex McKenna) voice and despite not liking Wren very much. I'm sure it was her stinky attitude which dominated the majority of the book. Although I was glad to see her make some headway and own up to her mistakes and quit blaming everyone else for her problems.
I enjoyed hearing about the wilderness experience, especially because I was concurrently watching season 6 of Alone (the Arctic) on Netflix!
The book ended and left me with the feeling that Wren still has a ways to go and much to work through, but she is on a good path.
A couple good quotes:
"If we walk far but are angry as we journey, we travel nowhere."
"If we hold grudges as we scale mountains, our view remains the same."
I love Wendelin Van Draanen's books - she's an amazing writer. She tackles difficult issues with grace and realism, always adding a touch of humor. She always leaves room for growth of her characters. I found myself wanting to get back to the story, despite not really enjoying the narrator's (Alex McKenna) voice and despite not liking Wren very much. I'm sure it was her stinky attitude which dominated the majority of the book. Although I was glad to see her make some headway and own up to her mistakes and quit blaming everyone else for her problems.
I enjoyed hearing about the wilderness experience, especially because I was concurrently watching season 6 of Alone (the Arctic) on Netflix!
The book ended and left me with the feeling that Wren still has a ways to go and much to work through, but she is on a good path.
A couple good quotes:
"If we walk far but are angry as we journey, we travel nowhere."
"If we hold grudges as we scale mountains, our view remains the same."
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