Wildfire

by Carrie Mac

Into the Wild meets The Serpent King in this story about Annie and Pete, two best friends on a dangerous and emotional trek through the woods.

Annie and Pete have been best friends since they were little. They know each other better than anyone, and they've been on more adventures than they can count--they even have a notebook filled with all the times they've almost died. But they always survive, because together, they're invincible.

And they've always been just friends. But lately, Annie has been thinking that maybe friendship is just the beginning, and she's been mentally replaying all the times they were almost something more.

Now they're heading out on their next great a ten-day backpacking trip through the mountains of Washington State, ending at Fire Camp, where they'll learn to fight the area's growing wildfire problem. The woods spark with the promise of adventure, but a freak climbing accident interrupts their progress, and as the wildfires close in and smoke envelops them, Annie and Pete wander farther from the trail. Carrie Mac's gripping story of the power of unrequited love and the danger of the elements is harrowing, beautiful, and unforgettable.


A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year

"Mac is as comfortable writing about the wilderness as she is exploring the internal world of a teenage girl, and the combination of the two is enthralling and devastating."-- Quill and Quire , Starred review

"At turns heartbreaking, joyful, and frightening. An affecting combination of wilderness adventure and poignant teen angst."-- Kirkus

"For a novel so introspective, the pace is remarkably quick...Recommend to fans of John Green, Adam Silvera, or Sarah Dessen. Advise readers to have tissues on hand for this riveting tale of friendship, grief, and survival."-- SLJ

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Teen, Nature, Survival

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2020

About the author

Four-eyed bookworm, tattooed queer, storyteller nomad mama to two unschooled earthlings, based in East Van, overlooking the shipyard cranes and always ready for the next most amazing giant tiny little big wonderful something to capture my attention.

Or:

When Carrie Mac was born, her right eye gawked off in one direction while her left eye looked the other way. Well meaning adults thought she was a changeling and so they wrapped her up and put her on the porch for the fairies to take back, please and thank you. It was snowing. It was dark. No fairies came. The same well meaning adults decided she'd catch her death out there. So they brought her in and kept her after all.

She's read millions of books, and has sat happily at the feat of a legion of storytellers. She is equally fascinated by disaster and grace. car wrecks, hurricanes, plagues, and genocides on the one hand, small and stunning everyday miracles on the other. She sometimes wishes she were a pirate. She'd often wished she'd run away and joined the circus when she had the chance. She spends a great deal of time in the company of her imagination, and when she isn't, she's wide eyed and awed by this planet and the people running amok all over it.

Reviews

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was.. strange. I definitely didn't hate it, but I feel like I went into it thinking it was going to be something different than it was. I thought this was going to have a lot more to do with the main character's unrequited feelings for her friend, but it ended up having way more to do with the survivalist elements and dealing with the loss of a loved one. With that being said, if you're into hard-hitting contemporaries that don't shy away from giving you all the feels, this is probably a book that you'll enjoy (bonus points if you like reading about hiking/camping!).

TW: death of a loved one, death of an animal, wild fires, infection + illness

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for this review! I discussed this book in more detail in this video on my BookTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwKy4...

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

Wow. That was a powerful and intense read. Beautiful writing and themes of the brutality of nature and life. Not as much about fire (or romance/friendship) as I expected, and much more about life and death themes.

On that note, if death (human and animal death from from various unnatural causes, described in pretty explicit detail) is a sensitive issue for you, that is a large part of the story.

But to me, a really impressive book. Longer review on my blog on Jan 26.

Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com! Let's be friends on Bookstagram!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[Sarah Swann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was rough starting out. It went into so many things from the past that these friends experienced that it was almost distracting. But when we got into the hiking and the woods with them in present time, I was much more interested. This deals with grief more than anything. And if you like hiking or camping books, you’ll enjoy this. I was expecting something more, so this one was a middle-of-the-road book.

*Thanks to the publisher for an early copy to read and review!

[Shannon Miz · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

2.5*

Wildfire and I had a very tumultuous relationship. I fell in love, deeply and quickly. And when the love ended, it, like its name suggests, crashed and burned. My problems may not be a problem for you though, and there are things to love about this one, which leaves me incredibly conflicted. I'll do my best to sort it out.

The First Half

First and foremost, I am a sucker for a survival story, so when we open lost in the forest in the middle of an actual wildfire needing to escape, I was hooked. Annie had been through so much, which we learn almost immediately. She'd lost her mom awhile back, and her beloved grandmother had just passed away from a pretty brutal bout of cancer. As I had just lost my own beloved grandmother (who actually had a ton in common with Annie's, personality-wise) this hit extra hard and Annie won me over.

Add to it that she and Pete are besties, but she's secretly holding a torch for him, and hello, so relatable! Regardless of whether their relationship ever progressed beyond friendship, I loved their bond. They shared so much together- stories, secrets, memories, love. And his presence was exactly what Annie needed to get her through this difficult time.

The story alternates between action/adventure scenes and flashbacks from moments they shared together, and I found it was the perfect balance between character development and plot. I was pretty sure this was going to be a five-star read for me, tbh.

The Second Half (Fine, the last 20%)

Okay. Remember how we had that discussion about whether an ending of a book/series can ruin the whole thing ? Turns out yes, it totally can. The worst part is, I can't even explain why without ruining the whole book! So. Look at your own risk, though I know that most of you can't help yourselves 😂 Killing Pete off just... okay, it honestly felt gratuitous and unnecessary. It seemed akin to killing off a main character for shock value, even though I truly don't think that was the author's intent.

In fact, I'm quite certain that her intent was to show Annie as a strong young woman who can overcome anything, but it didn't translate for me. And it made every bit of Annie and Pete's past seem meaningless to me. Because for so much of the story, it felt like this strong relationship, be it friendship or more, was going to be her shoulder to lean on as she rebuilt from her most recent tragedy. But now you're going to tell me that she lost him, too? Nope. I am not the kind of reader who needs an HEA, but this was too much for me. I ragequit for a few hours, then finished just to see if maybe it could be redeemed. It couldn't, for me. And frankly, it seemed emotionally underwhelming compared to the rest of the book but that could have just been my blind, fiery anger at play, who can tell. 🤷‍♀️

Bottom Line: After such an incredible start, I am extra sad to be so let down by the last 20% or so. But maybe you will appreciate the things I didn't, and it was great until then, so.

[Sacha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I’ll post a review upon publication.

Update 1/28/20:

Two stars

I struggled - valiantly - to finish this one.

The premise seemed super intriguing: two friends, maybe a burgeoning romance, and a lot of outdoor adventures. What's not to like about all of this? Well...

Overall, I had a very difficult time connecting with the characters, the constant talk of death/injury/irresponsible choices, and the final - as I see it - bizarre outcome. The relationship between the characters read as an authentic friendship, but I did not see much more (despite the insinuations). Often, I felt like there was a stylistic attempt at a pseudo-High Modern Woolf or Joyce borderline stream-of-consciousness return to the past. These reflections often felt disjointed and inexplicable. Unlike Woolf and Joyce, I didn't catch any kind of actual introspection and/or deeper connection to the characters happening in these moments: just confusion over this choice. Also, there is SO MUCH DEATH. It almost feels like the m.c. is yelling at readers, "Hey! I've seen death! I'll recognize it if I see it again! You can trust me!" I just could not handle the constant references to death and the regular scenario in which a character dies, but then there seems to be no reason for it (aside from the culminating situation and its connection to the hypothetical quotation I included). Also, these characters make terrible choices throughout the work. The log of near-death and incredibly dangerous experiences they have - ESPECIALLY THE CAR ACCIDENT!!!!!!!!! - and then the way these are handled (Aw, shucks. I guess that was a close one. Good job on escaping unscathed again!) was really tough to read. I don't think YA requires positive messaging to its audience in every case, but there are moments here that feel straight up irresponsible.

I really wanted and expected to connect with these characters, the outdoor elements, and the long-time friendship billed here, but this work made very little sense to me.

[TheGeekishBrunette · Rating 2 out of 5]

eARC provided by publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The cover was the first thing that made me want to read this book. As I read the synopsis I could see myself enjoying this one, especially since it is a unique setting. Here’s the thing, I wasn’t sure what to expect but with this book being on the short side it was hard to connect with the characters.

The book is under 300 pages. That’s not a lot of time for a well-developed plot and character development. The synopsis also mentioned unrequited love but honestly, I didn’t feel like the relationship between the two characters was anything more or would be anything more until the end. It didn’t give me the feelings I would have expected and personally, it just didn’t feel believable.

As for the plot, it was okay. It felt rather slow in the beginning and it does get faster but at the same time it just didn’t leave me feeling engaged. The plot twists were there and even though I didn’t predict them, they didn’t give me the shock factor that I love.

Overall, it was just an okay read. The characters weren’t memorable for me but at least the setting was one I hadn’t read about.

[H · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished this book several days ago, and have been struggling with how to rate it, because as a rule, I generally choose to not rate a book at all rather than give it only one star, but I found this story incredibly disturbing and problematic, so I'm going to break my own rule.

First of all, I assumed from the cover and the blurb this would be an adventurous story of survival, and love, and overall a positive, uplifting book. It is NOT. I mean there's adventure, and some survival, but this is much more of a story about loss and so much grief. And that's certainly an important topic, and that type of story can be beautiful, but in this case, a lot of it is caused by horrible decisions, and it could have been avoided, so it's just infuriating, not beautiful.

I did enjoy the writing style. It was well written and the voice was on point. If the story itself had been even okay, to me, I would have rated it much higher, but I just can't.

This story glamorizes reckless behavior and stupid decisions, and while there are dire consequences for them, it still paints it all as something beautiful and poetic. And the MC does NOT learn from her experience, to make better choices in the future, but rather ends the story making the same horrible choice that she made as a kid, that nearly killed her then, and there's nothing preventing it from being just as dangerous now. I worry that someone reading this while in a vulnerable place and on the verge of making a rash decision to just throw themselves into something reckless and dangerous would feel inspired to actually do it by how this story romanticises the events of the story.

SPOILERS BELOW:
.
.
To explain a bit of what I mean...here are a few of the problematic events in the story. To start with, because the MC, Annie, is distraught over her grandmother's death, her best friend, Pete, decides that the two of them should embark on an intense wilderness backpacking trip. They've spent enough time in the great outdoors that they know what sort of dangers they might encounter and the preparations they SHOULD take, but they neglect to make sure they are fully prepared, prioritizing rushing out to hurry on their way instead. And they purposefully choose to put themselves in extra danger. They tell their dads that they are going to be on one specific well known trail, because they know having someone know where they will be is an important safety measure, and then they purposefully choose to use a different, essentially unknown trail. They actually laugh at the idea of "safety and preparedness" claiming that if they really tried to be safe and prepared they would end up not going anywhere. (For the record, I absolutely believe it would be better to not go anywhere than to rush out somewhere dangerous while under-prepared.)
There are also dangerous wildfires at the time of their hike, but they say they would rarely get to hike if they waited for there to not be wildfires. These types of reckless choices are a constant throughout their "adventure" and we see though anecdotes from their past that they've been making similar decisions for years, risking their lives unnecessarily again and again. And have almost died from them before, but never felt that they should begin to make wiser choices.They act like doing those things was fun, and exciting, rather than stupid and dangerous. Again and again the story glorifies children making rash decisions and putting themselves in extreme danger. As the teens begin their hike, that starts in a different spot than they planned, because Pete was driving recklessly and they crashed, and but they decide to go for it from there, rather than making a wiser choice to call for help at that point, get the truck taken care of, and get themselves to where they actually need to be. They also don't have enough bandages, they didn't check their supplies before leaving, so a number of their items are inadequate and/or expired, or not actually charged. They neglected to print out topographical maps of where they were going to actually be. They take detours. They get themselves completely lost. Pete gets injured and they don't have enough bandages or antibiotics to take care of him well enough. And (another spoiler warning in case you've been reading anyway) he frikkin dies. We spend 80% of the book learning what amazing soulmates he and Annie are, and then, despite the fact that the book literally has already been dealing with grief up until this point, because both characters have lost their moms, and as mentioned before, Annie's grandmother just died, apparently the book needs to be even more grief filled. And it would be one thing if it was a horrible, awful lesson to Annie that she absolutely needs to live the rest of her live still having adventures but with CAUTION and WISE PLANNING and choosing safety over recklessness. But she doesn't. The book ends with her planning to HITCHHIKE (which we'd just been told nearly killed her and Pete when the hitchhiked a few years before and were kidnapped) and try to hop on a train to just go live wherever and try to survive on her own. And this is portrayed as beautiful and meaningful and poetic, rather than addressing it as the highly dangerous choice that it actually is. I cannot recommend this book to anyone. At all. For any reason. If you want a tragic book to read, to make you cry, there are plenty of those that don't glorify choosing to put yourself in danger.

(Thanks NetGalley and Random House Children's for the free ebook, all opinions are my own.)

[Erika Sarutobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

After reading through this book, I can't help but feel like I've been lied to. I was expecting it to be fluff fluff but it turns out to be hard-hitting more than anything (at least to me since I rarely read that genre).

The book focuses a lot on the hiking adventure, the past and death rather than the romance. Though I enjoyed it, I wish it was actually focused on the romance.

Now I'm a fan of friends to lovers and that was my expectations, but the book decided to rip my heart to shreds! I don't mind what happened in that big event but I hate how it happened. It was more due to negligence rather than reason. Annie in the end managed to do what she needed to do after it was too late.

Overall, I was really shocked and I bawled my eyes out while reading the book. This was a good read despite it being the opposite of my expectations (though I still wished it went the predictable route of romance) and I understand the emotional journey Annie had to take to continue moving on her life after everything that happened.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

[Chloe Reads Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so don’t get me wrong, I had issues with this book. But the intense emotional reaction it got out of me was INSANE.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little dry/boring. But I did f'ing cry 😢 😭 I wasn't prepared for the last like 10% of the book. I wasn't prepared for someone to actually die soooo 🥺🥺

[sol✯ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was way heavier than I was expecting. i thought it would be about unrequited love and it was but it also wasn't really. This book didn't capture me in the beginning but as time passed is lowly began to enjoy the book some more. This book mainly deals with grief and the loss of a loved one so if that is triggering I would advise proceeding with caution. I enjoyed this book but I have enjoyed other novels about grief mainly because of what i thought it was going to be vs. what it was. I was in the mood for a campy happy semi-predictable friends to lovers romance and... that's not this book at all. This book was sad and thoughtful and overall a story I enjoyed. I will be keeping my eye out on what this author puts out in the future.

TW: death of a loved one, death of an animal, wildfires, infection + illness
(trigger warnings taken from Chelsea from Chelseadollingreads)

[Rose | Adventurous Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, this book was disappointing. I expected so much going into this book such as an interesting backstory with funny, relatable characters and an adventure. However, this was not to be.
The beginning of the story is very slow with Annie remembering everyone in her life who had passed away. This part did not add any character depth or understanding. I wasn't quite sure why it was there.
I couldn't connect with the characters at all and as a result, there was no emotional impact at any part of the story. Not when Annie and Pete were remembering their childhood, not when Annie reminisces over her grandmother's death.
The one thing that I did like was that this story was just a story about best friends, not a romance, which YA already has an abundance of.
Rating: 3 Stars
Content: 2 Stars
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Animal death
Alcohol consumption
Wildfire (theme)

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

so, i realized that there are two types of friends-to-lovers relationships in books. (referring specifically to hetero relationships).

(1) the seemingly common one where the friends are.. friends and fall in love over time and it’s slowburn and all that.

(2) the one where the characters’ relationship plays out like a wattpad original story. the type of friends that have sleepovers when they’re kids… but it’s weird. it comes off like the kids have romantic feelings for each other even though it makes no sense. it feels like there’s obvious sexual/romantic attraction throughout the course of the friendship.

now, would you like to guess which friends to lovers trope that plays out in this book? ding ding it’s choice #2.

for some reason, even though i read this book over a year ago, i still remember the course of events that happen. seriously? i can only remember the plot of bad books.

the book follows Annie and Pete and their creepy friendship that makes my skin crawl. you do realize you can date each other without making it weird by just being friends, right?

Annie’s life has gone to shambles ever since her grandma died, and lifesaver Pete decides to take her on a trip.. to the woods? okay, let us see how this goes. *foreshadowing*

good ol’ Pete thinks it’s a great idea to strip down to his boxers (with unicorns on them) every time he sees a foreign body of water. EVERY. TIME. of course he jumps in..

so at some point, Pete gets his stupid self wounded by who-knows-what and guess what he does? yes, he jumps into a random lake and obviously he doesn’t know what flesh eating bacteria is, because his wound gets infected.

Annie is now left to taking care of stupid Pete and his stupid hurt self that doesn’t know how to rough it in the wilderness. Pete is the one that started this mess by saying “yo, let’s go hiking” to make Annie feel better, but he is the idiot getting hurt in the process.

spoilers (i hope you don’t plan on reading this):

Pete gets the wound on his leg severely infected because they can’t even get to a hospital (thanks Pete). then the reader gasps in suspense as homeboy excruciatingly withers away. it is a terrible and long dying journey. oh yeah, he DIES. HE FREAKIN’ DIES-

and then Annie randomly falls in love with a girl a year or so after her lover dies..

so the friends to lovers story turns to a sad and angering tragedy that wasn’t even good in the first place. i didn’t enjoy ANY of this book. the writing is terrible and Annie and Pete’s friendship/romance makes me cringe. Pete sucks. i hate his stupid novelty boxers and his stupid jumping into lakes self.

no good endings here.

[Hanmaj · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listening to my friend read this book to me felt akin to hearing the bomb strapped to my chest beep as every second passes by. Only, the bomb squad just arrived and half of them electrocuted themselves by sticking a fork into a wall socket.

I hate this book.

[Heather-Lin]

DNF @ 38%
But only because my anxiety won't let me read the darned thing! Two lifelong friends, growing up in Washington, on their way to learning to fight forest fires... Such a cool premise. But the disastrous situation they find themselves in is scary, and then flashbacks to parents with mental illness is just more than I can handle. Bummer.

[Christine Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Wildfire
Author: Carrie Mac
Pages: 272
Genre: Slice of Life, Tragedy, Survival
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is an Advanced Readers Copy. That means that this is not the final version of the book. Therefore, facts and quotes are subject to change in the published book.

Release date: 01/20/2020

Do not be deceived as this is not just about a Wildfire. 

This is about Annie and Pete and their friendship that goes beyond that of any I've ever seen. After the recent passing of Gigi, Annie's grandmother, Annie finds herself spirling out of control. Pete takes it upon himself as her best friend to make this right again by planning out the best adventure they have ever had. That is, until things take a trun for the worse. 

Warning: This book is not for the faint of heart. 

Oh No's
I just do not agree with how this ended. I was fully aware and it was predictable but I wish it had ended a different way. This is only my personal opinion and I'm sure to many, they will like how it ends but I did not. 

Yay's
The first chapter was like a horse running out of the gates. I was pulled in and completely engrossed in this book thanks to the harrowing tale of that first chapter. We are taken back to the beginning after that but I love the author's ability to capture our attention and definitely capture my tastes. 

Annie and Pete's relationship is completely unique and inspiring. They are best friends through and through regardless of their gender. As a child, I also had a best friend who was a guy but parents and people are always mistaking friendship between opposite genders to always be so much more than it is. Their connection was so deep and I loved reading about them so much.

Finally,
This is a great novel about how tough it is to overcome personal tragedy and how there are always those around you who will be there for you. 

My similar recommendation for this novel would be Hatchet by Gary Paulson

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-PM

[Casey Lown · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ IF YOU ENJOY:
• getting emotionally destroyed

[haven ⋄ f (hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

This book felt like a story someone had to get off their chest so they could heal. The writing was excellent, the pace was alright, and the characters felt real.

This was an outdoor-sy contemporary story featuring two best friends hiking to a summer camp. They get a day behind and lost and their phones (with the more reliable maps) die.

However, I did not like particular scenes and aspects of the book.

Spoilers ahead!***

Pete, Annie's best friend, got an infection nearly identical to Peeta's from Hunger Games. Both boys from both books nearly died from the infection, but Pete (from this book) actually did die.

I thought that was annoying because the author spent so much time making us like him and then just killed him. There was barely any resolution to the death either. Pete's girlfriend was barely shown to have grief and his life-long best friend Annie didn't seem to be grieving.

End of spoilers****

Overall, it was an okay read. I don't know if I'll ever want to reread it though. The cover was definitely gorgeous and enjoyable to look at.

[Stephanie Gillis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am livid with this book. It was marketed all the wrong way for me so the entire time I was just angry. I hated Annie. I hated her thought processes. I hated how this book ended. Just it made me want to scream so much. If you think this is going to be a friends to lovers survival story THINK AGAIN.

The thing is it isn’t badly written. Its actually insightful and very traumatic but I just got horribly spoiled by a death that pissed me off and made the entire point of why I wanted to read this book entirely moot. If I had know I wouldn’t have picked up the book in the first place. It’s not for me.

[Jess Grayson (bookspastbedtime) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

This was a tragic survival story about two best friends who find themselves in a terrible situation while backpacking through the wilderness. This wasn't the best-written story - I found the way it jumped back and forth between random timelines confusing & choppy. But, by the end, I came to care about the characters & feel emotionally connected to them. Overall, it was an enjoyable enough read, but not a new favorite.

[macy · Rating 1 out of 5]

that’s a no from me

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced review copy!

CW: Family death. Suicide. Animal death. Gruesome death.

How do you write a review for a book that left you wiping hot tears at 2 in the morning?

In short, Wildfire is the story of Annie and her best friend Pete.

... It's never that simple.


First of all, despite the promise of Annie's unrequited love and hand holding in the synopsis, this isn't a romance novel. I picked it up thinking that that was what I was getting. It's not what I got, but it was so much more. This is, however, a story of love. Family love. Friend love.. Nature love. Unicorn Love. And it is a story of grief, and depression, and how we deal with and move through that.. or get stuck in it.

The writing is beautifully done, I felt transported to the wilds with Annie and Pete as they try to navigate the trails on their way to Fire Camp with the impending wildfires closing in. My heart was racing. I cried. I felt fear. I laughed.


Overall, just a very good read, and I'm definitely interested in checking out the author's other works.

[Allison C · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️ 2 disappointing stars
*
Thank you NetGally, Random House Children’s, Alfred A. Knopf Books for sending me an arc for an honest review. Release date Jan 28, 2020.
*
Let me start off by saying that hard hitting contemporary is not my go to genre. I can see why a lot of people would adore this story, but it was not for me.
*
This book had a lot going for it. It has an adventure/survival plot, complicated relationship between friends, unrequited love (which one YA, is unheard of), and raw - hard hitting topics discussed... But, none of that matters if I don’t care about the characters. 🤷🏽‍♀️
*
Character development was slow or nonexistent. Maybe I just didn’t jive with the writing style or their voices. If it weren’t for the fact that this is an ARC that I requested from a publisher - I would have DNFed this book.
*
If serious contemporary novels are your jam, then you should definitely try picking this one up. Wildfire isn’t a love story, but an exploration of love and its many forms, and I am disappointed that I didn’t like it.

[pia laplaca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book but it was definitely different than what I expected. this is a survivalist story that is more of that than a hard-hitting contemporary although it is both. I didn't realize how much I cared for these characters and their stories until the end and I was CRYING. The central friendship was really strong and I loved how the book explored friendship and family being of equal importance. The only problem I had with this book is that I felt like everything was going wrong. It became sort of predictable in that way that I was annoyed that whatever the characters would try, they would not succeed. This may just be how the author created that high stakes, survivalist atmosphere but it just felt overdone to me and a little too dramatic. This book dealt with some important and dark themes that I did not expect like death of a loved one, grief and suicide. Other than that, this wasn't my perfect book but it was okay and I'd like to see what this author will put out next.

[Andria Sedig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really loved this book. It was moving, griping. I laughed, I cried. The survival aspects of this story were well done. The pacing was strong, I never felt frustrated by the flashbacks. Each one felt relevant to the action of the story in the presence. I also really felt like the character development within the book felt realistic. The story never felt like it was going to end with Annie being "over" Gigi's death, or that that was ever expected. It allowed for her to heal and grow and still feel sad as well

[Chelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annie and Pete have been inseparable since they were seven, and their bond only grew stronger when they both became members of the dead moms club. After Annie loses her grandmother to cancer, though, she's not in the best headspace, so Pete convinces her to hike with him to the summer camp they'd been planning on attending. Out in the wilderness near the Pacific Northwest Trail, though, they experience their most dangerous situation yet.

It took me a while to get invested in this story and the characters. That being said, about halfway through the book, I couldn't put it down! The plot really ramps up after we get through the backstory. This was a pretty good survivalist story and is a great readalike for Mindy McGinnis, Gary Paulsen, and Paul Greci.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
I always try to pick books based in the PNW when I go camping—it’s so fun to read about places I recognize while doing something the characters are doing.

This book wasn’t quite what I expected, but I ended up enjoying it, and it succeeded in giving me all those PNW feels (luckily no wildfires for us yet).
If you like reading about hiking, camping, or just the general wonderfulness that is the PNW then you’ll enjoy this one.

[Liralen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to keep this brief because I want to avoid spoilers, but: my favourite thing about this is how realistically, teenagedly certain of their own invincibility Annie and Pete are. They're capable and confident and perfectly comfortable cutting corners precisely because they are capable and confident; they've narrowly escaped disaster before and can't imagine that there will ever really be a situation they can't get themselves out of. Haven't we all felt that, or known people who acted that way?

(My second favourite thing is how much Pete loves unicorns. It would be really hard for me not to root for a character who loves unicorns.)

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 I think. I may need to update this as I ponder it. The relationship between Annie and Pete is well developed and beautiful. I struggled with the jumps in time though. I found that pulled me out of the narrative and slowed the pace.