A review by blurrypetals
Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston

5.0

I'm really quite speechless about this one. It's really really heartbreaking, it made me feel sick, and it made me hate a lot of things in this world...but this story is about healing, finding normalcy through trauma. In some ways, it's the opposite side of the same coin that has The Perks of Being a Wallflower on one side. While Perks deals with trauma in his past, starting school, and letting go of friends and moving on, Exit deals with a girl actively experiencing trauma, sticking to her friends, finishing school, and moving on. They really complement one another wonderfully and they both feel like such important, wonderful, and emotionally grounded books. I loved this book just as much as I love Perks, which, if you didn't know, is a lot. I love it a LOT. Best contemporary I've read in a while. It deserves all the praise in the world.