e-ARC, 256 pages
Release Date: August 7, 2018Published by: HarperTeen
Read from: July 30-August 4, 2018Stand-aloneSource: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from the Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW: N/A
For fans of: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, YAGirl Online meets Wild in this emotionally charged story of girl who takes to the wilderness to rediscover herself and escape the superficial persona she created on social media.
Mari Turner’s life is perfect. That is, at least to her thousands of followers who have helped her become an internet starlet. But when she breaks down and posts a video confessing she’s been living a lie—that she isn’t the happy, in-love, inspirational online personality she’s been trying so hard to portray—it goes viral and she receives major backlash. To get away from it all, she makes an impulsive decision: to hike the entire John Muir trail. Mari and her late cousin, Bri, were supposed to do it together, to celebrate their shared eighteenth birthday. But that was before Mari got so wrapped up in her online world that she shut anyone out who questioned its worth—like Bri.
With Bri’s boots and trail diary, a heart full of regret, and a group of strangers that she meets along the way, Mari tries to navigate the difficult terrain of the hike. But the true challenge lies within, as she searches for the way back to the girl she fears may be too lost to find: herself.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I grabbed this one solely because of the author’s name on the front. And as it happens, I didn’t actually enjoy this as much as her others. So many different factors go into it, but I have to say, this one didn’t have the same magic to me as, say, Things we Know by Heart. It was missing something to me.
“It’s hard to face someone who can see the real you, so I didn’t.“
Mari’s life has been perfect. Or so she likes people to think so. Under all the likes and follows, she’s not really happy. Especially after losing her cousin, Bri. The two used to be as close as sisters, but as they grew older, they grew apart. But one day it all gets to be too much. She makes a video confessing all that she’s really going through to all her followers and then deletes all her social media accounts. Then a box from her aunt sends her a birthday present, of all the things that Bri was to take on a trip with her while hiking the John Muir trail. Mari knows the only way to bring her out of the depression she’s in now is to make sure she completes the hike in Bri’s place.
“Life’s too short to wake up in the same house every morning, see the same people everyday, and follow a daily routine. I only have so much time and I won’t waste a second.“
The main reason I didn’t like this one as much was the believability. *SPOILER* I just didn’t understand how Bri could die while just TRAINING for this hike when this was something she did all the time, while someone who has never set foot on a trail can come in and complete the entire thing with no training and no muscles or anything whatsoever. It just didn’t seem plausible.
“And don’t forget, when things seem bad- and they will out there- everyday is a chance to be better than you were the day before..“
I also didn’t care for the main character. Although she grows immensely throughout the book, I don’t feel like we ever really know her. I wanted a bit more background of her and Bri. I felt short-changed with just the small passage at the beginning. I know she was supposed to be depicted as shallow, but it seemed as if she was still the same way at the end and didn’t learn anything. (Running when something happened and not telling people who she was. It seemed like she learned nothing.)
“It’s just what everyone does, I guess. WE walk around carrying invisible weights, and doing our best to look like everything is okay when it may not be.“
However, I still loved the writing style. Jessi Kirby is still one of my favorite authors. Although this one was not for me, I can still see the appeal that others will have to it. Kirby just has a way with words. I have never in my life liked camping or hiking, but with this book Kirby glamorized it and helped to put me right in the middle of the woods with the characters.
“We’ve all done things we’re not proud of, but we all get to grow and change. It’s allowed.“
Although some things didn’t work for me, there were others that did. This one isn’t for me, but I will be giving this to my teens who are obsessed with Snapchat. Hopefully this will do for them what it didn’t do for me.
Overall, I give this
