Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald

Synopsis:
Jenna may hail from the 'burbs of New Jersey, but Green Teen activism is her life, so she leaps at the chance to visit her hippie godmother, Susie, up in rural Canada. Jenna is psyched at the chance to commune with nature for the first time--and the cute, pladwearing boys she's certain must roam there.

But after a few run-ins with local wildlife (from a grouchy old moose, to Susie's sullen Goth stepdaughter, to a hot but hostile boy named Reeve), Jenna gets the idea that her long-held ideals, like vegetarianism and conservation, don't play so well with this population of real ouotdoorsmen. A dusty survival guide offers Jenna amusing tips on navigating the wilderness--but can she learn to navigate the turns of her heart?

My Rating: 8/10

My Thoughts:
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I'm a huge outdoors person and I love hiking and camping and all other various wilderness-y activities, so reading a book that involved a city girl out of her element in the woods sounded like a good fun read, and I wasn't disappointed.

Jenna is from New Jersey and is all about environmental activism, so when she gets the chance to spend the summer in a small town in the Canadian woods, she jumps at the opportunity to spend her time with people who basically live in the woods, and therefore must be environmentally conscious. However, upon arrival, Jenna is surprised to learn that for many of the town's occupants recycling pop bottles and reducing the amount of electricity used is the last thing on their minds.

Now of course because this is a ya book, there are several attractive local boys for her to hang out with, and I was impressed with the fact that Jenna actually realized and admitted to herself right away as soon as she started having feelings for one of them. It seems such an obvious thing, but so many times all the main female characters and in denial of their crushes, and that drives me crazy. In my high school experience, I always knew exactly when I liked a guy. It was admitting to other people about my crush that I had problems with. So kudos to Abby McDonald for getting that right.

Overall, though there wasn't really anything too deep or thought provoking about this novel, I really enjoyed reading it and, ultimately, that's all that matters.