Reviews

Be Not Far from Me by Mindy McGinnis

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miacasey16's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book just didn't relent. It was relentless. In the best way possible. I heard this books was like The Hatchet, but for girls. I read The Hatchet and enjoyed it, but this one was even more intense. And I think I liked it even more.

Initially, I was drawn to this book because I'm an avid hiker and backpacker. I've seen some crazy things happen to people while on a trail. ( and it doesnt matter how local or isolated the trail). I always like to read stories where characters get handed their shit while in the wilderness. It can be very humbling.

Here, you have one kick ass tough girl (Ashley) who sees her boyfriend with another girl, and gets mad and runs off. Ashley loves the wilderness, and is skilled, so seeing how she deals with the obstacles thrown her way was very entertaining.

I highly recommend this book! 10 stars.

After reading quick review:
Can I give 10 stars?? I could not put this book down for anything!

Review to come. Busy reading another book.

emsemce123's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A Survival story about a girl who smashes her foot and gets lost on the Appalachian Trail. Anytime there is teen dialogue I cringe but it's few and far between, only coming up at the beginning and the end. The characters aren't bad, but I didn't find them super-likeable either and I'm no survival expert but the story keeps telling us Ashley-the protagonist, knows her stuff but I'm constantly at odds with her dietary choices. I know you don't have options in the woods but I feel like a lot of the things she eats would make her survival even more difficult. I wish there had been more on the whole "Ashley knew a guy who disappeared in these same woods years ago" aspect because it was mentioned in the summary and what intrigued me in the first place but it's mostly just inner monologue and survival, which is prolly all you can do with a survival story. I've read better survival stories but this one isn't the worst, it's just fine. Also trigger warnings for gore and graphic descriptions of injuries. It's sparse but important to the story and did make me a little queasy at times so good job there.

kaylamoran's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Extremely repetitive, and the main character was textbook "not like other girls". I like Mindy McGinnis so I'm disappointed with this one.

wondernikel's review against another edition

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4.0

Okay, I listened to this in one go! Very much enjoy the main character, though a tad immature! Didn't think I would enjoy her journey as much as I did, though! It's not my usual type of novel, but I wouldn't mind trying others! And it has me checking out other books by this author!

brinleysbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

thebookedpath's review

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1.0

DNF'd. I really wanted to like this book. I thought the premise of a young girl lost in the woods and trying to survive was great. However, early on in the book, we discover that the MC already has some survival/tracking skills. This killed my mood because it diminished the tension and suspense I felt the book was based upon. The fact that the girl caught her boyfriend cheating on her and then while she is lost in the woods keeps talking about wanting to see him again got annoying.
I ended up skimming ahead, and it never seemed to get any better. The MC really just felt like she was wandering. The ending was just closing. Just felt very unfeeling for what I thought it would be.