Mindy McGinnis

Lost in the Great Smoky Mountains, rising high school senior Ashley Hawkins must fight for survival without any tools, growing in awareness that the world is not tame, and neither are people.

Be Not Far from Me

Fireless

Denaiir

I'm not sure I’ve ever read a book so hard to stomach. It was raw to say the least. I was hesitating to give it a 4.5 stars because it felt a tiny bit too long at one point, and because there are graphic scenes about killing animals (it's a survival story so I it fits the story perfectly, even though I might choose death over killing an animal, especially a female with babies). But it was just so well done that I think I just have to give it 5 stars. 

This was an extremely intense and bleak story, Ashley is a freaking badass and I loved the tension when one thing after another hit her. I also loved how the author filled the story with psychological elements, Ashley reminiscing about her life and thinking about what she wanted to say to her friends and family when she would see them again. I read it all in one sitting and couldn't get enough.

The author never shies away from the brutality of life and I love how strong her characters are. Definitely an auto-buy author.

Audio rating: 5 stars too, I love Brittany Pressley's narration.

Courtney 

Lauren Tabor

I've never really read a thriller quite like this before. In the sense that there are no murders. This was about a girl who got lost in the woods and had to fight for her life to get out. It was very interesting and definitely scary. But scary in the sense that it was just a really horrible situation to be in and I can't believe she survived this. Not the kind of scary that kept me up at night because I was too scared to sleep. This was just ok for me. It is definitely not my favorite kind of thriller, I guess I'm just not into it that much. It was still a good book and for sure freaked me out....I will never find myself in the woods alone ever. She was so strong and it was amazing to see everything she had to do just to survive.

McGinnis' characters are never really likeable. Or relateable. They are sturdy though, and steadfast in their completion of the story. The storyline and the way it is told is interesting and fresh.

Toni Turner

3.5? 4? I could not tell you right now. It’s 1am which is my bedtime and I listened to this audiobook all in one go while dealing with a headache and then it made me CRY?! And now I’m sad and only a little hopeful? Bc the end was nice but some parts were skimmed over that I was really excited to read about, but it all made sense for the story. 

Also, very fun, I kept pausing it to shout about it to my girlfriend because Ashley went though so many wild things but not too wild that they definitely haven’t happened to other people who have been stranded in the wild, and videos about people who got lost in the wilderness have been one of the YouTube rabbit holes we’ve been going down recently so..very topical for my media consumption right now. And I didn’t even notice it until I was already reading it!

Candyce Kirk

Survival stories aren't something I've read a lot of and if I think about it, there's only one previous book that comes to mind. Not because they don't interest me, but they don't all appeal to me I guess? Be Not Far From Me is definitely one that caught me eye and I had a feeling it was going to be an intense ride and needless to say I was right!

I would like to start off and say that this may not be an easy book to read. Ashley's survival story is anything but easy and things happen that aren't pleasant. The author doesn't try and hide anything and describes what this character goes through step for step. Be Not Far From Me won't be a book for everyone.

Okay, back to the story. Our main character Ashley is on a trip with her friends in the Smokies. Things seem to be going okay until she discovers her boyfriend cheating on her. In shock, Ashley runs. Unfortunately, she falls and things don't look good after that. She's pretty injured and has no way to contact her friends. This would definitely be my worst nightmare.

Be Not Far From Me is Ashley's fight to survive. I loved that every chapter was a day in her fight to get home. Not only do we learn how she's trying to fight, but also get to know more about her. I love the things she thinks about and her memories. She learns a lot about herself in these days she's all alone. I liked Ashley from the start. She's so strong and I love that she has the knowledge you need to have when hiking in the woods. I know this definitely played a part in her staying alive.

It was nice seeing a strong female lead in a situation that would easily lead to a lot of people just laying there thinking they're done for. Even when in so much pain and knowing she may lose her foot/leg, Ashley doesn't give up. Everyday she sets a goal and works for it. The author made me really care for her and I felt every emotion she was going through. I can't even imagine how scared I would've been. Also, I definitely wouldn't have been able to make some of the painfully difficult choices she did while all alone.

Also, I loved that the author kept the ending realistic. Things weren't magically all good again and there was a lot of consequences. All in all, this book was really good and I need to read more by this author ASAP!

Olivera Mitić

Mindi MekGinis je autorka čije sam knjige već dugo imala u vidnom polju, samo nikako nisam nailazila na pravu priliku za njih, niti sam mogla da se odlučim od koje bih počela. Kada sam videla da je Be Not Far from Me u pripremi, nekako sam se baš oduševila i odlučila da ću da je pročitam čim mi se ukaže prilika. 

Možda na prvi pogled ne deluje da je preživljavanje u prirodi tematika koja bi me privukla, ali generalno volim ovakve priče (ako ne da čitam, onda bar da gledam) i volim kad knjige opisuju prirodu i kad ona ima važnu ulogu u zapletu. Ako pročitate ovo i dopada vam se, mislim da je dobar pandan knjizi igrica Firewatch iz 2016. godine. 

Be Not Far from Me realno nije nešto mnogo više od onoga što piše na poleđini romana. To što vidite je to što ćete da dobijete i samim tim nećete biti razočarani ako vam deluje interesantno. Možda nije stvar koju ću pamtiti do kraja života kao izvanrednu književnost, ali mi je drago da sam konačno pročitala nešto od Mindi i da mi nije razrušilo očekivanja. Pritom, sadržinski, roman je zaista težak na momente i ima nekih scena od kojih se prosto ježite (npr kad Ešli pojede kojeg živog crva), ali to apsolutno daje autentičnost onome o čemu je autorka pisala i vidi se da je uložila trud na istraživanje. Jedva čekam da pročitam Mindine ranije knjige, pošto me je jako zaintrigirala sa ovom najnovijom.

Jordan Robinson

*I recieved this ARC from the publisher for an honest review. 
3🌟 
This was good. Its certainly entertaining. The writing is simple to get through, the characters straight forward, the plot moved well.
However, nothing about it felt special to me. The characters felt like people I've already read about. The plot something I've seen done before. 
I didnt dislike it, but I didnt love it either.
I kept feeling like McGinnis was going only half way with the more gruesome aspects on the novel. It felt as though she were trying to create harrowing situations but didnt expand enough to really make an impact. I wanted more description, more showing, more impact.

Hatchet meets Wild in this harrowing YA survival story about a teenage girl’s attempt to endure the impossible, from the Edgar Award-winning author of The Female of the Species, Mindy McGinnis. 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 with the red streak of infection creeping up her leg.

celeste

this was just boring. for a survivalist, the MC sure was the dumbest i've ever read about. she fell into a fucking ravine breaking her foot but refused to call for her friends' help because sHe WaS pRoUd.
the fact that she says that watching her boyfriend cheat on her hurt more than LITERALLY sawing off her own foot with a dirty ass flint and no anesthesia warrants this rating and for the MC to be referred to as a dumb bitch.

yerin

Lovisa

Tiffany Engler

TW: gore, animal harm, death

I read this book in one sitting. Granted, it is a very short book. I had to pause it a couple of times because I was so grossed out. Being grossed out did not make me lower my rating for this book. If anything, it made me want to make my rating as high as I could. If a book can make me feel like this, it deserves five stars.

This book is not for everyone. Please know that going into it. This book gets really gory. If you can’t handle a lot of gore, please don’t pick this book up. If you can’t handle harm coming to animals, please do not pick this book up!

Be Not Far From me follows Ashley who prides herself in being the queen of the outdoors. Ashley and a few friends go out to the woods to drink and have fun. Unfortunately, Ashley catches her boyfriend cheating on her. Drunk and not completely in her mind, she gets lost and hurt badly. When she awakes, she realizes that she went to far and her friends have already left.

With an infection growing in her foot, she tries to find her way home.

I freaking love this book. Mindy McGinnis does serious topics so good. This book was kind of hard to get through at times. I just really love a book that can make me feel all the emotions.

5/5 stars

Sienna Cowen

I really liked this book, was well paced and had an interesting story!

Nadia Leontescu

I LOVED the survival aspects, I love reading about people's lost and found adventures. This book captivated me and left me wanting more every time I put it down. It is definitely a little graphic in some ways (if you don't like descriptions of blood and injury, just skip it lol) but the detail was awesome.

Brianna Brown

Ashley just wanted to go camping with her friends, sit by the fire, drink some beers, and share a tent with her boyfriend Duke. Ashley didn't plan to get lost in the forest with a lacerated foot and no shoes. Using the survival knowledge she learned from her dad growing up and Davey at camp she fights to find a way back home. 

This was super fun, kinda gruesome without being too graphic, and kept me hooked from the start.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

THIS BOOK. I'm having trouble putting my thoughts into words for this one. It was quite an intense and emotional read. To even imagine what Ashley went through, both on an emotional and physical level, gives me great anxiety. Parts of the story were quite graphic, so this isn't for the squeamish. Overall a very powerful story that will leave you thinking long after you've finished.

Be Not Far from Me

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