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winelovingbooknerd's review
4.0
Lily has had a difficult life in and out of foster homes. When she finally finds Omar who is willing to love her unconditionally, she is not willing to let him go when he returns home to an isolated village in Bolivia, and decides to join him.
Fast-paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat as the story goes from one thrilling scene to the next. Completely submerges you in another culture. I had a hard time connecting with/liking Lily but she was starting to grow on my by the end.
Unputdownable-ness: Medium-High
Ugly Cry Potential: Medium
LOL: Low
Steaminess: Low
Character Development: Medium
Originality: Medium
Quality of Writing: Medium-High
Thought Provoking: Medium
Light Read: Medium
Fast-paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat as the story goes from one thrilling scene to the next. Completely submerges you in another culture. I had a hard time connecting with/liking Lily but she was starting to grow on my by the end.
Unputdownable-ness: Medium-High
Ugly Cry Potential: Medium
LOL: Low
Steaminess: Low
Character Development: Medium
Originality: Medium
Quality of Writing: Medium-High
Thought Provoking: Medium
Light Read: Medium
glendareads39's review
4.0
Wild, gripping and adventurous novel. Survival, sacrifice and resilience are the main themes. Lily Bushwold was a foster child until she applied for a teaching job in Bolivia. Omar, an Village hunter learns that his nephew has been killed by a jaguar. Lily goes with Omar to navigate the wonders and terrors of the Jungle. There’s a cliffhanger at the end of the book. We need a Sequel to Into the Jungle.
tashasbooked's review against another edition
1.0
I was just so so bored the whole time, I skimmed the last 100 pages just to finish it to see if it was going anywhere exciting and it did not.
djm_chal's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Pregnancy
brooke_review's review
4.0
Erica Ferencik of The River at Night fame returns with a seductive, pulse-pounding tale of a vagabond American teenager following the man she loves into the depths of the Bolivian jungle.
Nineteen year old Lily Bushwold has found herself in Bolivia, South America, after leaving behind a gritty, unstable existence in America. Her life in Bolivia heads in an unexpected direction when she falls passionately in love with Omar, who has also left a life behind - one as a hunter in Ayachero, an isolated river village deep in the Bolivian jungle. Lily finds herself swept up in her romance with Omar, and when he is called back home after his nephew is attacked and dragged away by a jaguar, Lily follows the love of her life blindly into the jungle. Despite Omar's warnings, nothing could prepare Lily for what awaits her in the deadly and dangerous Amazon.
Into the Jungle is a riveting, jaw-dropping, heart-stopping tale of survival. Ferencik envelops readers in the depths and darkness of the Bolivian jungle, exposing them to the terrors and turmoil of living on the edge. Don't be surprised if you find yourself pulled into the Amazon alongside Lily, desperate to find a way off of the path you so blindly walked down, but also unable to turn away. Into the Jungle is abrasive and biting, and does not hold back as it throws one nightmare after another at Lily, from vengeful tribesmen, to monstrous animals, to just plain survival in its barest form.
Aside from the exciting survival elements, I personally enjoyed learning how Lily grows and adapts after she is literally dropped in the middle of the jungle. Her interactions with the Ayachero villagers, especially the women, who don't take kindly to outsiders, was fascinating, and I loved discovering how Lily molded herself to fit into their community - another form of survival of sorts. Furthermore, Ferencik had me considering what I would do in Lily's shoes and wondering if I would ever be so foolish as to traipse into the jungle without a backward glance, nor any set of useful survival skills or knowledge. After reading Into the Jungle, I can resolutely say the answer to that question is NO!
Anyone who loves a good tale of adventure and survival will enjoy the savage, menacing Into the Jungle.
Nineteen year old Lily Bushwold has found herself in Bolivia, South America, after leaving behind a gritty, unstable existence in America. Her life in Bolivia heads in an unexpected direction when she falls passionately in love with Omar, who has also left a life behind - one as a hunter in Ayachero, an isolated river village deep in the Bolivian jungle. Lily finds herself swept up in her romance with Omar, and when he is called back home after his nephew is attacked and dragged away by a jaguar, Lily follows the love of her life blindly into the jungle. Despite Omar's warnings, nothing could prepare Lily for what awaits her in the deadly and dangerous Amazon.
Into the Jungle is a riveting, jaw-dropping, heart-stopping tale of survival. Ferencik envelops readers in the depths and darkness of the Bolivian jungle, exposing them to the terrors and turmoil of living on the edge. Don't be surprised if you find yourself pulled into the Amazon alongside Lily, desperate to find a way off of the path you so blindly walked down, but also unable to turn away. Into the Jungle is abrasive and biting, and does not hold back as it throws one nightmare after another at Lily, from vengeful tribesmen, to monstrous animals, to just plain survival in its barest form.
Aside from the exciting survival elements, I personally enjoyed learning how Lily grows and adapts after she is literally dropped in the middle of the jungle. Her interactions with the Ayachero villagers, especially the women, who don't take kindly to outsiders, was fascinating, and I loved discovering how Lily molded herself to fit into their community - another form of survival of sorts. Furthermore, Ferencik had me considering what I would do in Lily's shoes and wondering if I would ever be so foolish as to traipse into the jungle without a backward glance, nor any set of useful survival skills or knowledge. After reading Into the Jungle, I can resolutely say the answer to that question is NO!
Anyone who loves a good tale of adventure and survival will enjoy the savage, menacing Into the Jungle.
smoores415's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book's biggest downfall to me was the mislabeled genre as other people have mentioned. I'm glad that I happened to listen to the audio book, because I'm not sure I would have been able to finish it if I was reading. The storyline wasn't that interesting to me and the characters were hard to relate to, so I wasn't super invested in the outcome. The writing style also confused me because she would be writing as if in the present, but then say "I later found out..." relating to the situation, but we don't see her learn the information, so I wasn't sure when the main characters was meant to be telling the story. I did feel like the author was very descriptive of the jungle and the way of life there which I did find interesting, but overall this book wasn't for me.
redingtonjm's review against another edition
4.0
I bought this book because I read The River At Night a few years back and loved it. In Into the Jungle, her writing is yet again incredibly bright and vivid. I don't think I have ever read a book that painted more vivid and visceral images in my mind than these two books. The storyline in this one, however, was a bit more difficult for me to stay focused on. It took me a very long time to finish this book. But in the end it was worth it. I couldn't wait to see how it would end, and what decisions Lily would make. The ending was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I am amazed with Ferencik's writing yet again.
catherinec_123's review against another edition
2.0
I gave up halfway through. It felt like the author wrote a book set in Bolivia, without ever going there or doing much research. The characters were also not believable and I found the book somewhat annoying.
elinacre's review
4.0
LOVE the environment of this novel! the descriptions of the amazon villages and the people and their lives and the rain forest are addictively interesting (while the parts about poachers and how the modern world is encroaching on these native people and the rain forest are so sad).
the author is super talented at creating vivid and varying descriptions of this place and lifestyle that seems at once full of change and always moving and so unknown, but also stifling and stagnant and repetitive.
while the whimsical whirling romance was unbelievable (to me, at least - but i'm sure there are people who'd follow someone they've known 2 months into the rain forest to live, no questions asked), i wasn't disappointed, as the plot moved along to the excitement of the jungle.
the author is super talented at creating vivid and varying descriptions of this place and lifestyle that seems at once full of change and always moving and so unknown, but also stifling and stagnant and repetitive.
while the whimsical whirling romance was unbelievable (to me, at least - but i'm sure there are people who'd follow someone they've known 2 months into the rain forest to live, no questions asked), i wasn't disappointed, as the plot moved along to the excitement of the jungle.