YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

The world is not tame.

Ashley knows this truth deep in her bones, more at home with trees overhead than a roof. So when she goes hiking in the Smokies with her friends for a night of partying, the falling dark and creaking trees are second nature to her. But people are not tame either. And when Ashley catches her boyfriend with another girl, drunken rage sends her running into the night, stopped only by a nasty fall into a ravine. Morning brings the realization that she's alone - and far off trail. Lost in undisturbed forest and with nothing but the clothes on her back, Ashley must figure out how to survive despite the red streak of infection creeping up her leg.

34%, ch 1-3
Scribd shows this having 18 chapters but only 3 and I'm already at 34%.. Guessing there are going to be some really short, quick ones coming up.

(view spoiler)[First off, this may be the most uncomfortable book I've read in awhile. Listening to her talk about her foot is giving me sympathy pains.. ouch :( This is my third McGinnis book and I have to say, I'm quite the fan now. I love how brutal she is in her writing. Life is far from easy/fair/carefree and she does not hold back in showing that. (hide spoiler)]

53%, ch 4-6
(view spoiler)[ Well.. I thought it was uncomfortable before, but her waking up to a opossum chewing on her toe and then later cutting her own foot off really takes the cake. Sheesh. I'm not sure I could do it. I'd have died already. (hide spoiler)]

ch 7-11
(view spoiler)[ I was worried that whoever owned the meth lab would show back up before she got herself out of there - glad that didn't happen. And leave it to McGinnis to write a situation so bleak that you feel bad for some opossum getting killed for food. (hide spoiler)]

finished!
(view spoiler)[ "The girl who lived.. like some kind of hillbilly Harry Potter."

That line cracked me up. I think this story was resolved really well. I loved how she became a spokesman for an outdoor outfitter and that she found the strength to face the woods again to bring Davey home. (hide spoiler)]

Wow you flew through this. Hoping to get started soon, just really not been reading lately 😢

I did! It was so good. I really had to force myself to take breaks to post updates lol.

We all go through slumps, you'll get back to it!

Part I (view spoiler)[It was clear what was going to happen with her boyfriend, what a shitty friend he turned out to be. It goes to show that no matter how much you know, when emotions are high we don’t always think clearly. Thus her running blindly out into the woods without even stopping to grab her shoes or socks. (hide spoiler)]

Day 5 (view spoiler)[Holy crap that was hard to read. She cut off part of her foot..... ate bugs, worms etc but damn she hasn’t given up yet. I’d still be lying in the same place she fell. (hide spoiler)]

HeatherH wrote: "34%, ch 1-3
Scribd shows this having 18 chapters but only 3 and I'm already at 34%.. Guessing there are going to be some really short, quick ones coming up.

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Omg yes, it’s making me squeamish. I literally feel so uncomfortable and never want to go in the woods again lol (hide spoiler)]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Day 5 [spoilers removed]"

Dude no joke! There were parts that were TOUGH to read.

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "HeatherH wrote: "34%, ch 1-3
Scribd shows this having 18 chapters but only 3 and I'm already at 34%.. Guessing there are going to be some really short, quick ones coming up.

[spoilers removed]"

[..."

Same! Like the only perk to the possibility of life not getting back to normal soon would be that I wouldn't have to go to scout camp with my kid this summer haha

Bahahaha well we must appreciate the little things/favors in life 😂

Part II (view spoiler)[This girl is a trouper that’s for sure. All she’s had to endure and yet she knows how to handle herself. Still I’m like saddened by those baby opossums left alone. Is it weird that I would probably have taken them, maybe maybe to eat down the road but I’d feel responsible for them lol (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[Gah I don’t know if I should be blown away by her and yet I can’t help but feel murderous that her ex is now shacking up with Natalie, the chick he cheated on her to begin with. Is it wrong I want him to be left in the middle of the woods....?? Really great story about survival in more ways than one. (hide spoiler)]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Part II [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ The baby possum's broke my heart a bit for sure. (hide spoiler)]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Finished [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I did hate that he got an easy happy ever after. But honestly, I feel like that is life.. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[Yeah and life sux sometimes, you got that right. But still those baby possums 😭😭😭 (hide spoiler)]

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Date changed. Restarting January 11th 2022. Happy Reading ☺

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End of Day 1: (view spoiler)[This started off with a bit too much teen drama for me. I hope now that she is away from everyone it gets better. (hide spoiler)]

End of Day 4: (view spoiler)[Interesting that she would find his hat out there after a couple years. And in usable condition too. (hide spoiler)]

Jamie wrote: "End of Day 1: [spoilers removed]"

Have just read the first part and it is definitely high on the teen angst. (view spoiler)[ Think she was quite restrained given she saw her boyfriend having sex with his ex...but why on earth was she bothered about reacting to events earlier on? Think this could have been pre-empted. Now she's away from the others I'm wondering what is going to happen that will make the whole thing seem a little more scary. (hide spoiler)]

Jamie wrote: "End of Day 4: [spoilers removed]"

I wonder if she's imagining things at this point.

Day five begins with her in pretty bad shape. How can she be so far away from the others?

Day eleven felt somewhat inevitable, but what are the odds?

Part two feels as if it brings a sense of closure, but there's so many questions still to be answered.

Finished. Review on home page. A lot more graphic than I expected. Survival for the extreme.

Karen wrote: "Day five begins with her in pretty bad shape. How can she be so far away from the others?"

I was wondering the same thing! (view spoiler)[It didn't sound like she ran that far and with her claim to direction, I am shocked how far off she must be. (hide spoiler)]

Karen wrote: "Day five begins with her in pretty bad shape. How can she be so far away from the others?"

It seemed like when she started walking, she went in the complete opposite direction. But yeah, kinda weird imo.

Part one (view spoiler)[Duke deserved that punch, I would have done the same (hide spoiler)]

Day 1 - Day 6 (view spoiler)[I don't know if I like this flashbacks that keep appearing. I swear to God if she ends up finding Davey's corpse... but cutting her leg off doesn't leave her the same as she is now? She is still going to have an open wound that is going to get infected (hide spoiler)]

Day 7 - Day 13 (view spoiler)[Ashley's stubborness is going to be the death of her one day. So Davey Beets, a guy obsessed with nature couldn't get out of the forest but Ashley who doesn't have as much knowledge of the forest can? (hide spoiler)]

Part three (view spoiler)[Good of Duke to apologize, he is still trash. The university that won't give her a scholarship after everything she went through is also trash. So she is going to find Davey again? Why is she so obsessed with that guy? (hide spoiler)]

Karen wrote: "Part two feels as if it brings a sense of closure, but there's so many questions still to be answered."


(view spoiler)[I feel like her thoughts as to how she was maybe meant to find Davey makes sense for her getting SO lost. . (hide spoiler)]

Iris wrote: "Part one [spoilers removed]

Day 1 - Day 6 [spoilers removed]

Day 7 - Day 13 [spoilers removed]

Part three [spoilers removed]"


Part 3: (view spoiler)[I get going back to find him. I don't think it will be alone. His family deserves that closure too. (hide spoiler)]