Alone in the Woods

By Rebecca Behrens (Sheridan Books, 2020)

Genre: Middle School Fiction/Children’s Friendship/ Children’s Action & Adventure 

Pages: 301 (Hardback)

Via: Library

Cold. Defenseless. Hungry. Bleeding. Sick. Lost.

It’s not a good day for two middle school girls lost in the vast untamed wildness of Wisconsin’s Northwoods during the shank end of summer. The two ex-best friends must find a way to put their differences aside and work together in order to survive. Can they? Will they?

Uh-Oh

Jocelyn (Joss) and Alejandra (Alex) have been BFFs since kindergarten. But after two weeks at summer Spanish camp with uber cool Laura Longbottom hanging on her every wood, Alex isn’t interested in brainy and “nerdy” Joss. But their families have been taking joint vacations to “Allard’s Roost” family cabin on Wisconsin’s Buttercup Lake for years. So Joss hopes that their upcoming trip will provide an opportunity to restore and rekindle the friendship.

Will it?

Buried in her phone upon arrival at the lake, Alex is more interested in getting a Wi-Fi connection and texting Laura than she is in The Great Outdoors. Or talking. But after a rafting mishap, the two girls find themselves stranded and alone on the bank of Wolf River. Before you can say” lost my phone in the drink,” Joss and Alex are hopelessly lost.

“I don’t think I ever understood all those ominous fairy tales about kids being lost in the forest until I realized that I’d become one of those kids.”

Kimber: They should’ve brought me along! I’m like a GPS powerhouse on four feet! Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single… What? Besides. I’m also brilliant. Clever. Resourceful. Annoyingly chipper at all times. (Well, there was that thing about the double cheeseburger sitting unattended on the barbecue. Begging to be eaten. But I think Mom’s forgotten about that. So let’s just keep that our little secret, okay?)

“There’s a reason the hiking-clothes section at sporting goods stores is full of shoes with thick treads, quick-drying pants, and breathable layers.”

Found

Anyway, Mom found this book during of her patented three minute swoop-in-and-swoop-out dashes to the library. Sometimes the random titles and unfamiliar authors she grabs are uber stinkers. Think skunk. Sometimes they’re uber winners. Like me! Most are somewhere in between. But Alone in the Woods is a skillful weft of All Things Loved by Kimber and Mom: The Great Outdoors. Friends and fam. Top-notch writing. Superb storytelling. Intrigue. Adventure. Ghirardelli’s chocolate. Wait. Chocolate? How’d that get in here?

“And that’s what we were: totally lost, with no idea how near or far the river was.”

The 4-1-1

Anyway again, here’s the 4-1-1:

A taut and tense plot is bolstered by top-notch writing. The story also features credible characters and dialogue that’s so realistic, it sounds like an echo from those of us who survived The Dreaded Middle School Years. (Mom: You couldn’t pay me enough to do middle school again. Ack!)

Lost x2

Behrens’s descriptions of the river, the woods and the rugged national forest terrain is first-rate, as is her description of the emotions of being lost, both geographically and relationally. It’s masterful. The expert manner in which the author conveys misunderstandings, loneliness, frustration, confusion, betrayal and jealousy is epic. Ditto the way the girls’ backstories unfold.

Backstories

In between scenes in the woods, the author interweaves the summer backstory of what happened to Jocelyn and Alejandra and how the rent in their friendship fabric tore, resulting in the demise of Team Alexelyn: “We’d gone grom being two peas in a pod to two peas in a low-key food fight.”

In a Nutshell

Alex wants to be “twinning” with Laura and bask in the reflected glory of Laura’s “spotlight of cool.” Joss feels “small and nerdy and uncool.” Focused on fashion and accessories, Alex  sees Joss as an “embarrassing dork.” As struggling student, Alex also sees Talented and Gifted Joss as “judgy” and condescending. A know-it-all. And what’s the story on “registration” and Joss’s “Lupine Lover” sweatshirt?

As both girls realize they’re not little kids anymore, they start to wonder about their friendship. Will it grow with them, or will they outgrow each other, move on, and go their separate ways? The result is a subtle undercurrent of uncertainty and impending loss that’s both compelling and bittersweet.

Set Apart

Additionally, what sets this book apart from most middle school reads is – duh – the setting. Lost. In the Northwoods. In the middle of Nowheresville.

“The wolf hadn’t approached us, so I didn’t think it meant us any harm. I’d read stories about animals – including wolves – saving humans who were sick or hurt or list in the wilderness.”

Absorbing

So Alone in the Woods is one of the most absorbing middle school books we’ve read in along time. One caveat: what happened to Joss’s camera and those important photos is left hanging. Never explained. Bummer.

Page Turner

But overall, this book is a page-turner. We loved Alone in the Woods! Her Momness skipped lunch and dinner to finish it. I had to “Friend Remind” her about the dinner thing. After all. Someone’s gotta be the adult in the room.

You gonna eat that?

 

Our Rating: 4.5