Review: Wilderness Hacks by Joslin Brorsen

Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , , , ,
Wilderness Hacks by Joslin Brorson

Wilderness Hacks
Joslin Brorsen
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published March 31, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Wilderness Hacks

Hatchet meets Survivor in this high-action, humor-filled middle grade adventure about two kids stranded in the wilderness, whose annoyance with each other rivals the roaring rapids and ferocious predators they must face.

12-year-old Sadie Hahn didn’t plan to eat grubs on camera to win a contest. And she definitely didn’t plan to win first prize—a guest appearance on a Youtube show hosted by America’s favorite 13-year-old survivalist Radley Shaw. But she’ll do anything to cheer up her little brother Silas, who’s too young to qualify.

Rad has millions of followers and exactly zero real-life friends, so the contest is a great chance for him to hang out with kids his own age. But it’s hate-at-first-sight when Silas throws a wrench in his plan and Sadie decides Rad is just a clueless poser who doesn’t know the first thing about survival.

Disaster strikes when their scripted rafting trip turns into a real fight for survival. Lost in the mountains, Rad and Sadie must find shelter, build a fire, forage for food and try not to become food for a hungry predator. But can they stop bickering long enough to hack it in the wilderness? And will that be enough to keep them alive?

My Review

I love it when a story with two points of view features characters whose personalities are very different from one another. In this book, Sadie is cautious and methodical, while Rad is working really hard to be cool on camera. Both of them are working through big feelings about their dads. Sadie is grieving her dad’s death. Rad misses his dad, who seems increasingly absent from his life.

The friendship between the two gets off to a rocky start. Sadie clocks Rad as attention-seeking and spots him cutting corners rather than practicing real survival skills. (For example, the fish dinner Rad’s team prepares includes a store-bought, filetted fish instead of the fresh catch Sadie pulled from the river.) Rad feels like he can’t get a break. No matter what he does, Sadie is angry with him.

Once the two are truly lost in the woods, they must put aside their grievances and find a way to work together. Sadie realizes that Rad knows a lot about survival and challenges him to showcase it more authentically on his channel. Rad encourages Sadie to explore her complicated feelings about being in the wilderness after her dad’s death.

I liked the character growth in both Sadie and Rad. The bond they formed through their experience felt authentic. There’s a scene near the end that reminded me a lot of Hatchet, which was a nice moment. I’m a little puzzled by the comparison to the show Survivor, since there is no competition element here. I guess it’s meant to be a reference to being in the woods with a stranger?

In any case, Wilderness Hacks is a fast-paced, entertaining story that will make a perfect summer read.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Sadie and Rad witness the death of an adult and find the body of another person. They hear what they think might be wolves eating someone’s remains. They don’t see anything, but they’re pretty creeped out. A mountain lion attacks hikers. Some brief description. References to the death of a parent.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Finish Lines by Sarah Broyles

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

Finish Lines
Sarah Broyles
First Second
Published June 16, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Finish Lines

Miranda needs something to write about in her college application essays. But what?

Miranda has a plan: ace her junior year, get into an Ivy League school, and skip anything that doesn’t look good on a college application. But the pressure is getting to her, and now her parents have cut her off from every club, competition, and committee she’s a part of.

Desperate to get back on track, Miranda sets her sights on the Texas Water Safari—a 260-mile canoe race her mom was set to do with her granddad. With her mom sidelined by an injury, Miranda joins her grandfather. It’s grueling, messy, and scorching hot.

Can a perfectionist survive the wild long enough to find out who she is outside of a college checklist?

My Review

I love seeing sports books celebrating activities beyond the traditionally represented ones, so I was especially excited to stumble upon this book about competitive canoeing. To describe this simply as a sports book, though, doesn’t leave room for some of the other wonderful components that Broyles has stitched together here.

At first, Miranda sees the canoe race with her grandfather as a way to skirt her parents’ new rule requiring her to take it easy and reduce her commitments. The race will make a great college essay topic, she reasons. Plus, it’ll be amazing if she and her grandfather win the race this year.

As Miranda and her grandfather prep for the race, Miranda realizes that the trek will be more challenging than she predicted. She’s also stunned to learn that her grandfather doesn’t approach the race with any intention of winning. Finishing the race, he reasons, is the real victory.

This attitude and some of the rules on the river challenge Miranda’s desire to push herself beyond what’s reasonable (and sometimes safe). She has to decide how to balance the elements of the race, her relationships with her family, and her school work.

I thought the parallel stories of Miranda’s overcommitment and her mom’s addiction recovery and chronic illness were really nicely done. We don’t think of socially acceptable forms of addiction as problematic, but they can be just as harmful to ourselves and our relationships with others.

This book made me want to get out on the river and spend time in nature. It also made me appreciate intergenerational relationships, especially those within families.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril on the river.

Drug Content
Miranda’s parents are recovered addicts. The story peripherally follows her mom’s struggle with chronic pain as an addict in recovery and frames Miranda’s tendency to overcommit as a kind of addiction.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Lake Life by Tanya Boteju

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Lake Life
Tanya Boteju
Quill Tree Books
Published May 26, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Lake Life

Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli, this charming, chaotic romance follows two teens who agree to fake-date when stuck together one summer in a quirky, scenic lake town.

This is definitely not how Maya wanted to spend the summer—depressed at her once-beloved cabin in Spruce Lake, and unable to avoid seeing her lifelong best friend, Rashida, after confessing her woefully unrequited love to her last year. Maya can’t decide if she wants to escape, or convince Rashida they’re still meant to be.

Gabe is sent to Spruce Lake by her mom in hopes she stays out of trouble. Gabe is NOT excited to be here. She does NOT like nature. She does NOT want to spend her summer in a tiny town with outdoorsy environmentalist types.

Gabe is pretty sure she’ll be spending this entire summer bored and alone…until she meets Maya. Together, they hatch a fake-dating scheme to make Rashida jealous and convince Gabe’s mom that Gabe has turned a wholesome new leaf.  

But as the plan plays out, and Gabe and Maya contend with protests, a relentlessly concerned community, and romantic twists, they start to realize that their assumptions about friendship and love might have led them completely astray. Can they find their way through this mess without hurting each other in the process?

My Review

There are so many fun summer themes in this book. I love the vacation setting and all the outdoor activities. The romance blossoms at just the right moment.

Far from simply being a summer romance, this book explores the impact of gentrification on natural spaces and the power of activism and allyship in support of an Indigenous group. Gabe, a girl thrust into a tiny lakeside community as punishment for causing trouble at home, finally finds her feet when an older Indigenous woman mentors her. Their relationship happens haltingly. It’s not something either of them necessarily looked for. But it’s clear they sense some kind of resonance in each other. And Gabe begins exploring new ways of seeing the small town and the potential for her to make a difference there.

The fake dating trope plays out in some charming and funny ways. Maya and Gabe aren’t an obvious fit, so they have to figure out how to enjoy activities together convincingly. I liked how each of them brings strengths to the relationship. For instance, Gabe’s zero tolerance for teasing Maya about things she finds painful helps give Maya a reprieve and space to heal from her heartache.

Maya’s passion for her community and her knowledge of the area help Gabe discover new outdoor activities that are surprisingly fun. The two of them ultimately make a great team, and it’s a lot of fun watching them discover that.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I could see fans of Jennifer Dugan’s Summer Girls finding plenty to love in this summer romance.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
References to Indigenous spirituality and beliefs.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol in a few scenes.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Pet (Pet #1)
Akwaeke Emezi
Make Me a World
Published September 10, 2019

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Pet

A thought-provoking and haunting novel about a creature that escapes from an artist’s canvas, whose talent is sniffing out monsters in a world that claims they don’t exist anymore. Perfect for fans of Akata Witch and Shadowshaper.

There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother’s paintings and a drop of Jam’s blood, she must reconsider what she’s been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster–and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also uncover the truth, and the answer to the question How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

In their riveting and timely young adult debut, acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi asks difficult questions about what choices you can make when the society around you is in denial.

My Review

Pet has been on my reading list for quite some time. I picked up a copy of it at the bookstore in 2025, and since it’s such a short book, I decided to jump right into it as I started the new year.

It’s a really unusual story. There’s a bit of profanity in the text, and some themes that make it better suited for middle school students. To be honest, it reminded me a lot of The Giver by Lois Lowry.

The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in which everyone is supposed to be safe from monsters. The main character, a trans girl, is able to freely live as herself and make autonomous decisions about her body. Shadows of the past horrors still linger. For instance, Jam’s mother’s name is Bitter, and Jam knows she was named this because her birth was the result of “monsters monstering.”

Throughout the story, Jam wrestles with big questions about the world she knows. She has to decide when adults are telling her the truth and when there’s more to the story than they are ready to tell her or face themselves.

After Pet, a large, winged creature, emerges from Jam’s mother’s painting, Jam agrees to help him find the monster living in her town. He repeatedly calls her “Little Girl”, which only bothered me because he does it so frequently and doesn’t refer to her friend in a similar way, like calling him “Little Boy.” I suppose it’s meant to affirm Jam’s identity and reinforce the idea that Pet isn’t human and doesn’t think like one.

Conclusion

On the whole, I thought this was a deeply thought-provoking book. It’s so easy for us to assume that we’ve blocked all available pathways between danger and our kids, when, really, that isn’t the case. Sometimes, assuming we don’t have to be vigilant lets trouble in. Pet would make a great discussion book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vague references to sexual abuse. (Nothing shown on the page or described in any detail.)

Spiritual Content
Pet emerges from a painting Jam’s mother made. He is from another world and has come with instructions to hunt down and stop a monster.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. It’s unclear what Pet will do once he finds the monster, but it’s assumed that he may kill them. References to a past revolution that stopped monsters from harming others, but at great cost.

References to a child with unexplained bruises. Late in the book, one scene shows someone bound to a chair and hit repeatedly.

Brief references to a trial for child abuse.

Drug Content
In one scene, adults drink alcohol as part of a celebration.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from the public library. All opinions are my own.

Review: Travelers Along the Way by Aminah Mae Safi

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Travelers Along the Way (Remixed Classics #3)
Aminah Mae Safi
Feiwel & Friends
Published March 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Travelers Along the Way

In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This thrilling female-led Robin Hood remix reframes the legend’s tales of the Third Crusade from a Muslim perspective, rewriting its origin’s male and overwhelmingly white Euro-centric narrative.

Jerusalem, 1192. The Third Crusade rages on. Rahma al-Hud loyally followed her elder sister Zeena into the war over the Holy Land, but now that the Faranji invaders have gotten reinforcements from Richard the Lionheart, all she wants to do is get herself and her sister home alive.

But Zeena, a soldier of honor at heart, refuses to give up the fight while Jerusalem remains in danger of falling back into the hands of the false Queen Isabella. And so, Rahma has no choice but to take on one final mission with her sister.

On their journey to Jerusalem, Rahma and Zeena come across a motley collection of fellow travelers—including a kind-hearted Mongolian warrior, an eccentric Andalusian scientist, a frustratingly handsome spy with a connection to Rahma’s childhood, and an unfortunate English chaplain abandoned behind enemy lines. The teens all find solace, purpose and camaraderie—as well as a healthy bit of mischief—in each other’s company.

But their travels soon bring them into the orbit of Queen Isabella herself, whose plans to re-seize power in Jerusalem would only guarantee further war and strife in the Holy Land for years to come. And so it falls to the merry band of misfits to use every scrap of cunning and wit (and not a small amount of thievery) to foil the usurper queen and perhaps finally restore peace to the land.

My Review

I really appreciate this series, which takes classic literature and reimagines it from a completely different perspective. I like that this invites a new point of view into a familiar story. It’s interesting to consider how the story changes when the main character is a different person.

I don’t know much about the history of the Crusades, but this novel seems very well-researched. The back matter includes a historical timeline, which helps place the events in the book in a broader historical context.

I’m generally a fan of a gender-flipped story because it also forces readers to consider the differences between male and female perspectives. I love the reversal in this novel that centers a girl, Rahma, as the infamous Green Hood, a thief who robs the rich and delivers the spoils to those impoverished by the war.

I spotted the connection between some of the parallel characters in Rahma’s band of thieves immediately, but it took me longer to place others. It was a lot of fun as the pieces clicked into place, and I recognized elements from the original story playing out in this new landscape.

I absolutely enjoyed this book, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reimagined classics. I think fans of We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal will enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages LIST.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
List.

Romance/Sexual Content
List.

Spiritual Content
List.

Violent Content
List.

Drug Content
List.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from the public library. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

The Faraway Inn
Sarah Beth Durst
Delacorte Press
Published March 31, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Faraway Inn

After a devastating heartbreak, a teen girl decides to spend her summer helping her eccentric great aunt manage her quaint Vermont inn–but this fixer-upper is hiding a magical secret–in this cozy and irresistable new fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop.

Sixteen-year-old Calisa is desperate for a change of scenery after her lying ex ruins her perfect Brooklyn summer. When her parents suggest she head to rural Vermont to help her great-aunt run her cozy bed and breakfast for a few months, she jumps at the chance.

But when Calisa arrives at the B&B, she’s shocked to find a rundown inn with only a handful of guests. And to make matters worse, upon meeting with her great-aunt it quickly becomes clear that Calisa was not invited. Auntie Zee is determined to keep anyone from messing with her beloved inn…even if it is clear she needs the help.

To earn her keep, Calisa sets to work fixing up the inn, enlisting extra help from the groundskeeper’s (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the more it becomes evident that there is something strange about the B&B—and its residents. Something almost…otherworldly.

The inn is keeping a magical secret—but to protect the place she’s come to love, Calisa must unravel the truth of it, and her aunt, before it’s too late.

My Review

This is the first time I’ve read anything by Sarah Beth Durst, but I’ve heard her name a lot before. She’s a prolific writer with books spanning a wide range of ages and vibes running from cozy to intense.

The Faraway Inn is one of her cozy fantasy books. Those cozy fantasy elements and sweet moments between characters are exactly the balm my reading soul needed right now. The story made for a lovely escape from reality and a fun summer read.

I actually could have seen this book marketed as adult fiction very easily. Calisa is supposed to be sixteen, but there aren’t many reasons the story has to be about a teenager. The pressure to return home for her senior year added some tension to the story, but that was probably the biggest element that targeted the story at a young adult audience.

One of my favorite characters was probably the lizard named Steve. I liked how he became part of the story and how Calisa’s relationship with him impacted her relationship with her aunt and her confidence in her ability to navigate trouble at the inn.

I would be interested in reading more books by this author. I’m curious about her middle grade titles. I could see the kind of cozy storytelling and humor in this book being well-placed in middle grade as well.

If you’re looking for a read that’s a perfect escape from reality and a fun summer romance, definitely put this on your reading list!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Magical creatures/characters and other worlds.

Violent Content
Situations of peril.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.