Front Country

by Sara St. Antoine

My Side of the Mountain meets Greta Thunberg in this heartfelt, exciting novel about one girl’s growing awareness of herself, the world, and the relationship between the two. 
 
The world is not okay. Now what?

Ginny Shepard is glad to be in Montana for a month of backcountry camping before she starts high school. The world is on fire. That's the awful truth. And Ginny would much rather be hiking in the mountains than doing the summer college prep classes her parents think will help her future. Because, the future? Who even knows what that is anymore.

But once Ginny gets to camp, things get complicated fast. She meets her five challenging, rebellious, tech-addicted boys. And she finds out TrackFinders is designed for kids who need extra "support." Instead of feeling free as a bird, Ginny feels trapped . . . and betrayed.
As her friendships with her fellow campers deepen on the trail, though, Ginny starts to see new sides of them—and of herself. Maybe out here in the backcountry she'll actually find what she needs to face the front country again.
Set in Montana's sweeping alpine wilderness, this epic adventure captures the tremendous heartbreak of realizing the world isn't okay at all and shows how that knowledge, and what we choose to do with it, shapes us into who we are.
 
AN EMPOWERING ADVENTURE Despite humans' ever-worsening impact on the environment, there are relatively few books about the topic—especially for young readers, and especially that don't feel preachy. This book is an empowering adventure story, and it's also positive, not depressing.
STRONG FEMALE Ginny positively models dealing with strengths and weaknesses to readers, who are full of flaws but full of strengths, too. The way she struggles with both will speak to young readers. Even kids who are not interested in climate change will recognize her as a fellow young person and quickly become aware of the ways she's able to effect change—and the ways she still can't.
STEM Educators and librarians will love tying this fictional story to nonfiction curriculum, and there are several different access points for this book from a scientific perspective. Environmental science, earth science, climate change, differing regional biomes, geology, and biology are all explored in real-world, character-driven ways.
GIRLS IN Ginny's passion for science shows readers that science-loving girls can be cool—and there are many different ways characters of all genders embrace science.
A THRILLING In the tradition of Hatchet and Wolf Hollow , this book is an excellent, fast-paced story that's impossible to put down. Kids will love every character—or love to hate them—and will finish the book feeling like they're leaving friends behind. 

Perfect
Animal lovers
Kids who love adventure and nature
Teachers and librarians

Genres: Middle Grade, Climate Change Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook

332 pages, Hardcover

Published October 4, 2022

About the author

Sara St. Antoine is an award-winning author and freelance writer. A graduate of Williams College, Sara holds a master's degree from the Yale School of the Environment. Her debut novel, Three Bird Summer, was selected as a Boston Globe Best Book of the Year and an ALSC Notable Children's Book for middle grade readers. She also edits the Stories from Where We Live anthology series, which celebrates place-based literature from different regions of North America. Originally from Michigan, Sara now lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two teenage daughters.

Reviews

[Ella · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like the way this book is written, but not what it’s written about. I’m not a big fan of global warming or climate change, so this just wasn’t the book for me. :(

[Carol A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great outdoor adventure story with a strong female character. Middle Grade students who love nature and are concerned with the state of the natural world will find this compelling. It takes on important topics, but does so in a way that remains hopeful. I would recommend this book to my students who like wilderness and outdoor adventure stories and/or reading about current social issues.

[Aaryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like middle grade cli-fi, add Front Country to your TBR!

[Renata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard about this book because I attended an author event where St. Antoine was one of the authors speaking (I hadn't heard of her before - I went for some of the other authors), and she read a little excerpt of this and I was hooked! Really strong MG/lower YA story for climate anxiety-havers with a side helping of outdoor adventure/survival story, this baby has a LOT of tween appeal and I'm not sure why it hadn't been on my radar before!! Also an ultimately sweet trans coming out side storyline. Would also be great for school/class discussions - much to discuss!!

[Avery Cordingley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story, character building, and working in of a little queer joy without making it a plot point (it doesn't always need to be a major plot point, representation is important on so many levels).

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewing a ARC version for Raincoast Books.

Received softcover edition.

I have to say I liked this story but some details could have been fine-tuned. I really disliked how the girls family treated her and the whole situation. Do such clueless families truly exist?

The issues the teens had felt real. I wish there had been more hope/closure for the brother of the lad who ran away.

I loved the idea of using the backcountry as a stepping stone to helping teens deal with the real world, the front country in a better manner. I loved the natural help they received when things went downhill rapidly.

It's well worth reading.

[Gabrielle Schwabauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who would relocate instantaneously to the Rocky Mountains if the opportunity presented itself, I really thought I would be the target audience for this! And parts of it I quite liked:

- The theme of grappling with the pain of reality and the terrible, all-encompassing state of the world when you know you could be doing more--but also that you don't have the power to do very much at all. This is especially resonant during your teen years, when you are typically given all the respect of a toddler but much of the expectation of a college student. Also, I'm fascinated by all the reviews that say that Ginny's parents were unrealistic because no parents would actually minimize an 8th-grader's worrries about the world being on fire. Uh. I have bad news for you. But anyway, I was very much in favor of the author wanting to depict some kind of path forward for a really climate-anxious kid without resorting to platitudes or false cheer.
- Pikas! It was really fun to follow a protagonist who had a favorite animal and see how excited she got to observe them, learn more about them, even sort of connect with them until she could tell them apart.
- The sibling-like relationship between Ginny and Elijah was genuinely sweet and entirely believable; they felt like two humans bonding over the weirdest possible experience rather than just stand-ins for the author's vision.
- Really, the characters all felt pretty varied. The author resisted the temptation to sanitize the characters and so for much of this book I really was interested in what was going on with this crew.

However. So, so much was brought up, hesitantly explored, and then never really concluded. I kept expecting subversions to obvious issues and then they just . . . never came.

- Technology. The counselors are so obsessed with stamping out all talk of tech that they won't even let the kids joke about being on a quest or getting XP for doing things. They berate the teens even when their conversation was a much-needed moment of connection between two kids who could really use it. Then of course they are saved by the presence of a phone (wow, we needed a phone to take several troubled teenagers on an extended wilderness hike? just in case something went wrong? Who knew) and then they still have the audacity to throw it back in Ginny's face later as a betrayal of trust. Interestingly, Ginny also begins to record the pikas and wants to use the footage for some vague conservation project, but at no point does the story actually acknowledge this strange dissonance. Naturally the counselors don't, either.
- So much is made of the beauty and purity of nature, which then raises (within the text!) the question of whether or not it is actually healthy to view your own natural body as somehow "incorrect", but this too is dust in the wind, disappearing beneath layers of smiley affirmation, never to be seen again. And I'm not even talking about the author's actual subject matter, just that she's constantly doing this thing of raising complex questions or challenges to her own story EXPLICITLY within the story, and then she never returns to them, so we're left to be like "oh, okay . . . I guess the moral was that that question didn't matter because of the sweeping grandeur of the oak" or whatever.
- Case in point: Greyson's entire "this camp is kind of creepy and controlling, actually, and I feel like your desire to maintain order and Fix Me might not actually be compatible with real human trust and connection" speech that was COMPLETELY ON POINT, and then the counselors are like "wow, yes, we value your honesty and feedback" and then they continue behaving exactly the way they've been behaving for the entire book, and at the end they are vindicated by every single teen sticking up for them to their own parents. Hmmm.
- The counselors, man. I really wanted to like Brooklyn and Kai. They seemed cool at first. But they continually make terrible mistakes, double down, guilt trip the teens, gloss over the major problems they cause . . . it all just got to be too much for me. They lose an entire camper (and they give him all their lifesaving supplies beforehand as a weird power-tripping trust exercise, perfectly highlighting the transactional and dangerous nature of this false trust???) but I guess it's no big deal? Because he is a mean, bad person? Like yeah, he sucked, but entirely separately, it absolutely IS a critical safety failure to lose a teenager and they absolutely should all leave immediately. I mean, they even take them on a hike that's so dangerous that one kid injures his knee trying to hike back down because part of the trail is just sheer ice. (Why? Why would you bring a bunch of teenagers there???? What are you thinking I just do not understand?) Multiple teens save Kai's life and he's briefly thankful but again this is mostly glossed over. EVERY OTHER ADULT THEY ENCOUNTER EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT THE RESTRICTIVE NATURE OF THEIR "CAMP" AND ALL THE RULES, THE EXTREME EXPECTATIONS, ETC. BUT I GUESS ALL THOSE LOSER OUTSIDERS JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE MAGIC OF NATURE OR SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW. I just kept thinking about the worst teachers I had as a teenager, the ones who acted like your best friend one moment then turned on you the next, then got all emotional and insisted they were obsessed with controlling your every move/publicly rewarding you for vulnerability/publicly punishing you for failure to make them look good or perform for them, because they caaaaaare about you and they want you to be okaaaaayyyy. In hindsight it is just such a creepy and power-laden setup for any kind of interaction and I was so sure that the counselors were going to have a Come To Jesus moment where they apologized to the campers and got rid of all the ridiculous and dehumanizing rules (leaving only the actual safety ones, like staying in a group, protective gear, teamwork around food and camping, bear prevention measures, etc.) and then no! One counselor just cries and manipulates Ginny until she apologizes! It was like watching a video of me at impressionable 14; I was cringing so hard! Noooo don't tell the counselor that it was fine for them to literally punish traumatized youth for not sharing their tragic backstories with strangers on command because actually Ginny shouldn't have taken a photo of a pika with a phone! Oh, you've been trusting and trusting and these teens ruined it by "talking to each other when you said to have solo time" or whatever other nonsense???? Boo hoo for you. Except for the part where everyone's actions and options were minutely controlled at every second, yes, you were certainly very trusting and kind.
- It's also implied that this trip is somehow wildly expensive, which I didn't understand at all--they're bringing their own equipment and eating mostly trail food. I get having a fee because you have to pay the trail guides a living wage for an entire month, plus some supplies and such, but one kid said he was stuck doing this and now wouldn't have money to attend college???? What kind of bizarro cultlike nature organization is charging people COLLEGE MONEY for this experience??? I was so confused by this and again, not addressed.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lover of the outdoors and a science teacher, I was delighted to recieve an ARC for Front Country by Sara St. Antoine. From the book description, I expected a happy little story about a teen girl overcoming some challenges in the outdoors, but it was so much more than that. The book quickly took a turn when I learned that Ginny was sent to the wilderness program because her parents were hoping it would help "fix" all her challenges she'd had that spring when she lost herself in the worries about climate change. Ginny's fellow camp mates, five teen boys, were fascinating characters, each with their own stories to tell. St. Antoine built in a lot of real-life complications for the teens, but nothing that felt so complicated it was unbelievable. I think a lot of teens would see parts of themselves in this group of teens. The book had some twists I wasn't expecting, which made it a lot of fun to read, and I really enjoyed how it all came together. Overall, I really recommend this book to readers - it really was a fun, delightful read that tugged on my heart.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatable characters? Page-turning action? Beautiful prose? Plus, a critical theme (climate change) at its heart? FRONT COUNTRY has it all. I couldn't put this book down and was left both concerned and hopeful for our planet's future. I hope booksellers, libraries, and schools champion this novel for middle-grade readers. It's important that younger generations have books to help them think critically about and grapple with climate change. This book is one. Run, don't walk, to get a copy! Congratulations to Sara St. Antoine for writing a gripping adventure story that addresses one of today's most pressing issues.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I would like to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review. This book is due to be released September 20, 2022.

When Ginny enters the 8th grade, her science teacher strikes a cord with her by talking about climate change and how quickly species are dying out, and how fast changes are being made to the planet. Ginny finds herself mired down by all she learns about how humans are effecting the earth, and begins to question if the things she has always found so important such as having the perfect GPA or tennis practice should really be something she cares about, when the planet is in such dire straights. Ginny's parents are concerned as she begins to drop out of activities such as tennis lessons, and not show as much interest in her grades, and begins to question what matters in life. That summer Ginny thinks she is going on a backpacking vacation in Montana, which turns out to be a program for "troubled teens" to help them to find their way. Ginny soon finds herself as the only girl with a handful of boys trying to make her way surviving a month in the Montana wilderness while she is supposed to be participating in various activities to learn more about herself. The counselors tell them that they will be learning life lessons in the "Back Country" that they can eventually bring back with them to the "Front Country" when they return to their regular lives.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the differnt characters, and the concept of the teenagers completing different activities/skills such as pitching tents, hiking, cleaning the campsite, etc, to learn to work together etc. was interesting. I did wonder if Ginny would have really been so "all or nothing" that she would stop everything in her life in protest of climate change, and it was a little odd that these teenages were in the woods for a month with only two young adult counselors. Even though I did enjoy the nature descriptions and seeing the various characters get to know each other and themselves, and the acknowledgement that teens are struggling with some very real life issues with a slight nod here and there to COVID and the pandemic, it did drag a little in the middle for me. However, all in all this was a solid book for me and I enjoyed it.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

FRONT COUNTRY will resonate with kids who love nature and are worried about climate change, animals, damage to the environment, etc. Its message is one of hope, insisting that even if one person can't change everything, even their small efforts can make a difference.

Our main character, Ginny, becomes alarmed about the state of the environment after a disturbing lesson in science class. Her extreme anxiety about the situation causes her to act out in uncharacteristic ways, worrying her parents, and causing them to send her to a nature camp that she later realizes is for troubled teens. She's furious with them for not understanding her fears about the future and for deceiving her about the camp. Personally, I identified more with the parents than with Ginny, who seemed like a brat to me. Her parents certainly could have handled the situation better, but I don't blame them for being taken aback by their daughter's overreaction to something that she surely already realized was happening. It just seemed way over-the-top to me. By the end of the book, Ginny does change, realizing that some of her actions have been selfish and even dangerous. I never really cared for her as a character, but I appreciate the growth she goes through over the course of the novel.

The other characters are mostly sympathetic and likeable. Their personalities and struggles are revealed as the story goes along, making them more complex and interesting. None of them really stand out, but they're an appealing group for the most part.

My biggest beef with this book is that it has no plot, which makes it pretty slow and boring. It's like reading someone's day-by-day camp journal—some of it is interesting, some of it is dull, some of it is funny, some of it is just tedious. There's no real action until the last third of the book, when things FINALLY pick up. Even then, their problems are resolved pretty easily without a lot of real risk. I definitely wanted a deeper, more interesting plot.

FRONT COUNTRY isn't a bad book. It just didn't engage me like I wanted it to. If I hadn't needed a book set in Montana for a reading challenge, I likely would have DNF'd this one.

[Arminzerella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ginny Shepard’s world comes squealing to a halt when her science teacher starts a unit on climate change. Unlike her classmates, Ginny can’t seem to stop thinking about all the animals going extinct and the planet dying. Her friends and family don’t understand why it’s hard for her to care about anything else. When Ginny starts ignoring her grades in favor of activism, and quits tennis, her folks give her an ultimatum – attend “TrackFinders” camp, or else. Ginny is actually super excited about spending weeks in the mountains of Montana – in nature! But she soon discovers that TrackFinders is for kids who have lost their way, and it’s going to be weeks in the mountains with a bunch of boys who don’t want to be there. The food isn’t exciting, the company is less than stellar, the group therapy is kind of a joke, and the backpacking is a challenge, but Ginny does love the scenery and is over the moon when she’s able to observe her favorite animals – pikas (related to rabbits, and super cute) – in their natural habitat. Just as the group is starting to gel, one of the boys – Maddox – steals the guides’ gear and runs away, leaving them in a sticky situation. They’re forced to evacuate and the whole trip nearly unravels. But an unplanned stay with a research scientist helps Ginny understand that there are things she can do to fight for and help the creatures that can’t – she doesn’t have to feel helpless. That realization helps her find the courage she needs to finish camp and return to her life back at home. For all the kids who love the world and don’t want to see it on fire – bonus if you also love pikas! An outstanding read about sensitive kids, climate anxiety, and saving the world. For middle and high school teens.

[Macy Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ginny, named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg, gets sent by her parents to Trackfinders, an outdoor camp for kids who need to get back on track. For Ginny's parents, being off track means Ginny has stopped playing tennis and cares less about her grades ever since she learned that her favorite animal, the Pika, will likely go extinct in her lifetime due to the climate crisis.

I thought the climate theme of this book was extremely relevant, however, I just had a hard time believing Ginny's family's reaction to her concerns for the climate and her choice to focus on that. While the author insinuated at one point in the story that her parents might just be scared too, it really just felt like they were over the top clueless. On top of that, the supposed resolution of the conflict between Ginny and her parents happened off page and didn't feel satisfying or believable at all.

In general, there was some excitement and fast pacing in the last part of the book, but pacing wise most of it seemed to drag on. I liked all of the tween characters except Maddox but ultimately cared little about the adult characters despite the author's attempts to make Brooklyn and Kai somewhat sympathetic towards the end of the book. I thought both the climate message and subtle inclusion of references to the COVID-19 pandemic but that didn't make up for the frustration about the parents and ultimately what felt to me like a lack of satisfying resolution there despite Ginny's great personal growth. The ending coupled with the pacing was why I just couldn't rate this higher.

[Virginia McGee Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eighth grader Ginny Shepard, in Sara St. Antoine’s new book Front Country, falls prey to a sudden obsession that overshadows the rest of her life. She falls in love with the most adorable animal she has ever seen, the pika, and then learns that it may not survive in the midst of climate change. Suddenly her homework, tennis, and summer college prep lose their importance.

The author’s portrayal of this fixated middle schooler rings true as does her portrayal of the overreaction by her parents when they ship her to a summer camp with five borderline delinquent boys in the Montana wilderness. Two counselors, who have their own issues, are supposed to straighten out all of the irresponsible kids in this back country and ready them for reentry into the front country. Their methods include lots of rules and wilderness challenges and a scarcity of teenagers’ favorite foods.

In the beginning, Ginny remains at a loss to discover why she has been sent into this wilderness. She comes to understand the process behind her parents’ thinking and slowly forms relationships with the boys and the counselors. Eventually, she will find her beloved pikas in the wilderness about the time her parents realize they may have made a mistake in sending her there.

The universal issue of climate change and the more personal issues for kids of keeping focus and for adults of parenting with understanding are woven into an engaging story. This would be a good book for parents and middle grade students to read and discuss together.

[Tiya Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to Front Country on Audible while vacationing in Montana with my family. It was a great cross-country drive, summertime listen. I liked it so much that I special ordered a hardcover copy and got to discover the charming drawings inside. Front Country is a fresh, down to earth story about a teenaged girl coming to grips with her anxieties about climate change while gaining a better understanding of her family dynamics and life purpose. The protagonist, Ginny Shepard, heads off for summer camp in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and realizes her fellow campers are not at all what she expected. The engaging story follows Ginny's experiences and observations in the wilderness and her developing friendship with a motley crew of "troubled" boys. The setting is lovely. The nature descriptions are vivid. The scientific moments are educational (but not in a heavy-handed way). And there are important philosophical take-aways about how to grow up, find contentment, and plan a life in a time of climate crisis. The cast of characters is diverse in terms of race, region, class, urban/rural living, and gender identity. I would recommend this book for any young person (middle grades to teens) who feels the weight of environmental deterioration and is not sure where to turn with their questions. I would also recommend it for teachers, camp counselors, and parents looking for sensitive and effective ways to teach about the environment.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ginny is the daughter of two lawyers (named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg) who plays tennis and is on the honor roll in Lexington, Massachusetts. After she becomes obsessed with environmental issues and starts to exhibit extreme anxiety, her parents ship her off to a month long outdoor adventure camp, which thinks is great because she loves nature. However, it turns out to be a "boot camp" type outing with a group of troubled teens. For fans of Van Draanen's Wild Bird or April Henry's Shock Point, but with less drama and more outdoor adventure. This author also wrote the intriguing Three Bird Summer (2014), which also has a wilderness setting.

[Drew Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me want to go backpacking! I really enjoyed this book. I was expecting a typical coming of age story, which is still there, but something about the plot felt wonderfully unique. I connected with the character on her feelings of hopelessness in a world that we've helped destroy. The scenery is beautiful, the adventure is engaging and easy to follow. I could have done without the romantic subplot but I'm also not a teenager so perhaps it would be more exciting for a younger audience. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and it left me feeling like we might just be ok despite everything.

[Tessa Englander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished Front Country and I am in tears. (I stole a few moments here and there to read amidst my ridiculous schedule, although I never wanted to put it down!)
It’s a beautiful book. It’s a wonderful story well-told AND the author was able to masterfully redirect the doom and gloom into a world which is at the same time hopeful and truthful. I loved it as an adult. I’d recommend to anyone at any age!

[Claire Mercurio · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the genres of Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Action Adventure contain wonderful stories for young people and adults alike, Front County tackles the real life issue of Climate Grief. The writing is exceptional and the characters are masterfully crafted. In Front Country the magic is Nature, and the superheroes are teenagers learning about the wilderness, each other, and themselves.

[Keith Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written and wonderful piece of literature for young readers. Sara St. Antoine creates an important story about our future, one that provides hope and helps makes sense of the changing world children will inherit.

[Loran · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written and fast paced

Even though I’m older than the target audience, I really enjoyed this book. I have the same feelings as Ginny does about climate change. And spending time in the mountains with the natural world.

[Kate Klemchuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captured my soul and put it into words. The story , the writing, the characters, the ending is all fantastic. And not fantastic “for a middle grade book” but just fantastic. Highly recommend if you care about the environment and have climate change anxiety

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

So insightful with a driving plot. Each character has such a unique personality and there were turns I didn't expect. A realistic yet optimistic take on climate change and how young people can perceive it. Highly recommend to anyone interested in the environment.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Sara St. Antoine! I loved Three Bird Summer and Front Country is equally engaging and meaningful. For anyone interested in nature, climate change or even human dynamics, this is a great read.

[Ellie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this book and its message and the characters. Could not put it down for the last half.
Also, I grew up in the town over from Ginny so I liked the references to Walden Pond and Route 2!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realistic fiction about an eighth grade girl who spends her summer before high school on a wilderness trek designed for at risk kids that her parents sent her to when she basically shut down after learning all the animals she loved were going to soon be extinct due to global warming.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last 30% of this book really pulled it up from a two-star book. The first 70% is kind of boring and stays on message a bit much.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

you could not pay me enough to read this again

[Dara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first read I finished this year was a book I received in 2022 and randomly picked off my so-called read soon shelf. Yes I need to work on that shelf as well as on my older ones! This book is Front Country by Sara St Antoine. ⁣Front Country is a middle grade book about Ginny, who learns that her favorite animal, the pika, is in danger of extinction. Ginny hyperfixates on this and begins to feel that nothing else matters, including doing well in school and attending her extracurricular activities. Her parents sent her to a back country camping program in Montana. When she gets there, she discovers that the program is actually for kids who have gotten into trouble – and she’s the only girl! Ginny is a strong character who makes the situation work for her. Topics the book focuses on include climate change, diabetes, gender identity, and difficulties with parents. I thought this book was well done and would be enjoyed by young people who care about our climate. ⁣