Review: Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Meet Hermoine, senior cheerleader living in Canada. She lives in a small town, so small that sports are a small thing, but cheer is what they are known for. Hermoine and her best friend, Polly, are co-captains of the squad - this year is going to be great. However there town is cursed with 2 things. In each grade it seems that one person is killed by a drunk driver and another becomes pregnant before graduating high school. Hermoine's class already lost a classmate to a drunk driver in grade school, and nobody has plans to be the one who gets pregnant.

That is until a cheerleader does. Don't let this summary fool you into thinking this is a YA easy read. The story built around what happens and how it happens leads to what could be interesting discussion as well as real take away moments for teenagers.

While there were parts of the book that left me "mehhh," I credit E.K. Johnston with her ability to create strong female characters and friendships. Too many times YA novels leave me disappointed with mean girls and the lack of support of girls raising other girls up. This novel does just that. During some hard times, and tough decisions, friendships are fierce and do not waiver - which I think might just the perfect message for some of our YA readers.

It's a very quick read - only 3-5 pages per chapter. Don't pass it up - I think you'll find something there worth thinking about it.

Sorry friends, this will not be in the LV IMC due to mature content & language.

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