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167 reviews for:
Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks
Emily Pennington
2.96 AVERAGE
167 reviews for:
Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks
Emily Pennington
2.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
This was not my cup of tea, more about the author and not as much about the epicness that is the parks.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
What I wanted: descriptions of National Parks, stories of how the narrators experience in these Parks changed her life, how these Parks helped bring about self-realization.
What I got: "When I looked down at my genitals, I saw a tangled mess of pink skin, all puckered and bunched up like old chewing game. Unshaven for months. Swollen and slit." (Pg. 93) Seriously. This is a real quote. There are so many descriptions about sex and genitalia. This is not what I wanted in a book about National Parks.
Or, about the pandemic: "Why do I have to ruin my life for a bunch of old people with weak immune systems whom I've never met?" (Pg. 71) Some of those old people are your readers family or friends. People who died due to this global pandemic, and you're complaining about how it ruined your self-discovery journey. Not to mention how the narrator flaunted the breaking of laws and COVID regulations because: "I have to finish my trip in a year, waaaah!" Get over yourself.
Compare these to quotes about the Parks: "Rocky Mountain National Park blew by in an uncommonly happy blur of alpine cirque and sapphire lakes." (Pg. 89) That's it. That's all she uses to describe Rocky Mountain National Parks. Or, about the Badlands: "...formations that looked like crude, beige cardboard cutouts." (Pg. 100)
If you want to read a book where the narrator and descriptions want to make you gouge your own eyes out, pick this one up. Otherwise, skip it.
What I got: "When I looked down at my genitals, I saw a tangled mess of pink skin, all puckered and bunched up like old chewing game. Unshaven for months. Swollen and slit." (Pg. 93) Seriously. This is a real quote. There are so many descriptions about sex and genitalia. This is not what I wanted in a book about National Parks.
Or, about the pandemic: "Why do I have to ruin my life for a bunch of old people with weak immune systems whom I've never met?" (Pg. 71) Some of those old people are your readers family or friends. People who died due to this global pandemic, and you're complaining about how it ruined your self-discovery journey. Not to mention how the narrator flaunted the breaking of laws and COVID regulations because: "I have to finish my trip in a year, waaaah!" Get over yourself.
Compare these to quotes about the Parks: "Rocky Mountain National Park blew by in an uncommonly happy blur of alpine cirque and sapphire lakes." (Pg. 89) That's it. That's all she uses to describe Rocky Mountain National Parks. Or, about the Badlands: "...formations that looked like crude, beige cardboard cutouts." (Pg. 100)
If you want to read a book where the narrator and descriptions want to make you gouge your own eyes out, pick this one up. Otherwise, skip it.
DNF. too much whining, too many adjectives, not enough of anything needed.
"What are you reading?"
"Oh, just a book about a self-absorbed white woman on a quest to find herself who overly describes literally everything"
"What are you reading?"
"Oh, just a book about a self-absorbed white woman on a quest to find herself who overly describes literally everything"
This book truly had me along for the journey. The author, Emily, has such a beautiful, fun, and joyous way with words. I appreciated the way she told her story. As if I was there with her as a friend, not just a reader.
It was slow going for me in the beginning with tons of geology terms, but it easily picked up and left me wanting to keep along.
It was slow going for me in the beginning with tons of geology terms, but it easily picked up and left me wanting to keep along.
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
I am giving this book 3 stars mainly because I feel bad that I didn’t like it. It was so hard to pick up and feel motivated to read it but I felt obligated to finish it. I really love national parks and the idea of van life and so I was excited to give this a read but I don’t feel like there was a good connection with the parks and it was just a part of the background. The description of the scenery was very well done and I enjoyed that aspect but it didn’t make up for what I was missing. A roller coaster of emotion. Just not for me unfortunately.
I might keep this book as motivation for what not to do when writing my own memoir