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romancelandias's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this one! It's the first book I've ever read where a POV character is both aromantic AND asexual. I liked how sure of her sexuality Vale was. Not that I don't appreciate questioning queer characters, but it's nice to read queer characters who KNOW who they are and put a specific label to it. I also loved her friendship with Ash, the other POV character and her best friend. He was super supportive and respectful of her boundaries and he was also adorably geeky and a huge gamer. I loved him. The survival aspect of the story was exciting and nerve wracking, although I did have to wonder how realistic it was that they seemed to run into every single animal they could possibly come across in the woods. But who knows, maybe the Canadian wilderness is just more dangerous!
wildflowerz76's review
DNF. I just can't with this one. The writing is SO BAD. Especially the dialogue. Ug.
ceridwyn's review
4.0
Definitely an adventure tale. Many, many cliff hangers and two great lead characters - including one who is aro/ace.
cbking1's review
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? It's complicated
3.0
There were so many references to video gaming and D&D that I wonder if it would alienate people fully understanding those references if they weren’t already familiar. I never really felt anything for the characters.
itsme_lori's review
4.0
4 stars for the aro-ace rep and the platonic friendship and survival aspects. I do wish the characters were more fully developed, they felt a little two dimensional. Also, I didn't fully understand the inclusion of the bullying aspect and why it was there. But overall, I read this book in a day because I just really needed to know what was going to happen to Ash and Vale. But I wish the other stuff was either more developed and discussed more deeply or just not there at all. A really quick read with some dangerous mountain survival skills, good rep, and a YA with no romance. Worth a read if it sounds interesting to you.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
thebakersbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There are unlikable characters and then there's Ash: the caricature of a gamer nerd who (by his own admission) has left his best friend to be harassed and bullied over and over while he was aware of the situation and did little to nothing to intervene. To be clear, I can and have enjoyed reading protagonists written to be flawed, morally gray, etc., but this was going way too far. When he's injured later in the book, Ash literally needs his female co-protag, Vale, to comfort him about HER OWN BULLYING and him doing nothing to stop it. Mind, some of the "bullying" we witness is literal sexual harassment.
There were so many other issues with this book. The author and the story treated the Indigenous peoples of the area as footnotes in the history of their own land and continually referred to them in the past tense. The writing/editing was poor; sentences would often be repeated almost completely within a page, restating the same information again. There were repeated uses of "lame" and "dumb" to mean "bad," which is ableist. The aro-ace rep in Vale was also basically a caricature; she was the stereotypically sex-repulsed ace and there was never any clarification that there are other kinds of asexuality. I also hated that her parents refused to grasp her not wanting a relationship, even by the end of the book when everyone else had undergone character growth. As an ace (but not aro) person myself, this is not the kind of rep I want.
I did not enjoy this book and do not recommend it to anyone. If you're into survival fiction, there are better stories out there.
content warnings: bullying and sexual harassment by peers; mention of intense online trolling/bullying; aphobia by parents; detailed descriptions of major bodily injury; brief Harry Potter reference
There were so many other issues with this book. The author and the story treated the Indigenous peoples of the area as footnotes in the history of their own land and continually referred to them in the past tense. The writing/editing was poor; sentences would often be repeated almost completely within a page, restating the same information again. There were repeated uses of "lame" and "dumb" to mean "bad," which is ableist. The aro-ace rep in Vale was also basically a caricature; she was the stereotypically sex-repulsed ace and there was never any clarification that there are other kinds of asexuality. I also hated that her parents refused to grasp her not wanting a relationship, even by the end of the book when everyone else had undergone character growth. As an ace (but not aro) person myself, this is not the kind of rep I want.
I did not enjoy this book and do not recommend it to anyone. If you're into survival fiction, there are better stories out there.
content warnings: bullying and sexual harassment by peers; mention of intense online trolling/bullying; aphobia by parents; detailed descriptions of major bodily injury; brief Harry Potter reference
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Bullying
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
caitgreatcaf's review
3.0
This was a quick, easy read. The writing skewed young for the theoretical audience, more like middle grade than YA, and the characters were pretty flat. Vale was bullied, aro-ace, and liked hiking. Ash was goofy, a gamer, and told lots of jokes. It was pretty superficial. Vale’s sexuality was mentioned a lot, as well as her romance repulsion, but because the entire story was confined to the woods it was another underdeveloped part of her character.
The plot/setting itself was a little more gripping. Who doesn’t love a survival story with snow and bears? But again, it was pretty superficial with a lot of telling instead of showing.
Overall I’d give this book a solid 2.5 stars: I don’t regret reading it but I wish that it were a more solid entry on my shelf.
I won an ARC of this book thru a Goodreads giveaway
The plot/setting itself was a little more gripping. Who doesn’t love a survival story with snow and bears? But again, it was pretty superficial with a lot of telling instead of showing.
Overall I’d give this book a solid 2.5 stars: I don’t regret reading it but I wish that it were a more solid entry on my shelf.
I won an ARC of this book thru a Goodreads giveaway
ericafriesen's review
4.0
I really liked the way the book was written. I could not put this book down because on each page there was another moment that happened and you had to keep reading because it was so suspenseful.
cheermio's review
4.0
survival story in the mountains with 2 best friends who seem very dissimilar. reading about vale's bullying is super hardcore depressing. people are SUCH flat-out jerks. but, it is a fast paced read mostly with a lot about survival and good storytelling. the lack of romance is also appealing and aro-ace representation is handled well.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.