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.
4.5 Stars
"I've never felt so lonely, but I'm the one that's going to die, and there's no one here to stop that from happening but me."
This is a survival story at its best. Mindy McGinnis is back and with another novel that kept me on the edge of my seat, glued to her story as I raced through the pages, needing to know what was going to happen. It seems McGinnis is always trying something new, and damn is she successful with this one. Be Not Far From Me is a harrowing novel, focusing on the wild danger of nature, but also the wildness of the self. Things get dark, real fast. Ashley is a nature enthusiast, and feels more at home in the woods than civilization. One night, she and her friends decide to go out in the woods to drink and relax, and things take a turn when Ash sees her boyfriend cheating on her. I admit, I was ready to roll my eyes at that. A girl so upset that she stupidly runs into the forest at night, drunk and alone? Overdone. But I never should have doubted McGinnis. She made Ashley's reaction plausible, understandable, made it feel real. And as much as I wanted to scream at Ashley to stop, I understood her gut reaction to flee. Being inebriated definitely didn't do her any favors, though. These are Ashley's woods; she knows how to navigate them. But she is far off trail with no marker to be seen, and she hurt herself bad in her drunken race away from camp. All she has are the clothes on her back and an serious injury that is hindering her escape to civilization, along with the survival skills she had learned from an old camp counselor. She will need to rely on everything she has been taught if she has any hope of getting home, but how can she survive when her own mentor vanished in these very woods a few years prior, never to be seen again? Ashley is strong, stubborn and smart, and she needs all of these qualities to survive. I know if I was in her position, I could not do as she had done. She became as wild as the forest around her, doing whatever she had to in order to survive. It gets dark and gruesome and even had my stomach turning at points, needing a pause from reading to really digest what had just happened. But that's Mindy McGinnis for you. She doesn't hold back, and that's what makes her such a great writer, and her stories so realistic. While so much of this novel is about physical survival (which is damn intense), there's also a fight for the inner self. Being alone in the woods leaves Ashley with only her own thoughts. She filters through and evaluates her past actions, relationships and emotional pain, of choices she regrets and things she wish that could be different. It makes her character so much more complex and human, and had me fighting alongside her. Everything I've read by McGinnis has gotten my heart racing, and stayed in my mind for a long time. Be Not Far From Me is no exception. I will take good care to remember all the survival tips us readers are given throughout this novel. Ashley is a hell of a strong character, in more ways than one, and I hope to god that I am never in a situation like hers. This book gets real dark and heavy, but as with classic McGinnis style, there is light woven into the darkness. It may be a small flame in a sea of shadows, but it is there, and it is mighty.
"I was born with teeth and fingernails, and both of those were made for hanging on."
About the Author
Mindy McGinnis is the author of multiple novels that span many genres. From historical to fantasy, contemporary to gothic thriller, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us.
A ninth-generation farmer, Mindy attributes much of her character to growing up on an Ohio farm, learning the value of physical labor, and the harshness of the natural world early in life. Much of her writing reflects small-town living and aspects of rural poverty. A former school librarian, Mindy still lives and works in her hometown, and is dedicated to making herself available to financially disadvantaged school districts and communities.