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

 

Jenna may hail from the ’burbs of New Jersey, but Green Teen activism is her life. So when her mom suggests they spend the summer at Grandma’s Florida condo, Jenna pleads instead to visit her hippie godmother, Susie, up in rural Canada. Jenna is psyched at the chance to commune with this nature she’s heard about — and the cute, plaidwearing boys she’s certain must roam there. But after a few run-ins with local wildlife (from a larger-than-life 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 outdoorsmen. A dusty survival guide offers Jenna amusing tips on navigating the wilderness — but can she learn to navigate the turns of her heart?

I picked up this book while browsing the bargain shelves at Chapters one day. Something about the main character being an environmentalist and choosing to spend her summer in some far-off, rural town in British Columbia, Canada had me wanting to read more. It’s not every day that I read a book that’s set in Canada, let alone in an area that I know quite well. And I’ve always enjoyed a good summer story where the kids (or teen in this case) get to go off and spend their entire summer somewhere fun and exciting! I mean, seriously, we were never sent anywhere in the summers, save for a week at a summer camp.  

This book was great for so many reasons. You have your main character Jenna, who is passionate about something other than just boys and summer tans.  Her enthusiasm over being eco-friendly was over the top at times, but you couldn’t help but love her for it. Jenna’s identified herself as a ‘Green Teen’ for a few years now so it’s “who she is”, but can she find a way to fit-in and still be true to herself and her values? Then you have the polar-opposite of Jenna, in her godmother’s stepdaughter, Fiona – a sullen, snotty girl if I ever have met one.  I couldn’t stand her at times, but she does grow on you as her character evolves. While I am the type of person that would probably get on the next plane back home rather than deal with the likes of a person like Fiona, I admired Jenna for her perseverance in not backing down to Fiona’s hostile attitude. And while there is an unfolding love story in the pages, Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots is about so much more than falling in love.  The teens in this book felt real because the circumstances in their lives dealt with real issues – and often – relatable issues.

And then we also have the outdoors! And not just the outdoors, but activities in the outdoors! There’s hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, fishing, and mountain climbing – it definitely made me homesick for the beautiful outdoors of BC. And as inexperienced as Jenna was with these activities, she didn’t let it stop her from tagging along. She even goes so far as to purchase a wilderness survival guide which will help her navigate the great outdoors, as much as it will her personal life.  

The only thing that bugged me about this book was the moody and unwelcoming attitude of the boys that Jenna tries to befriend when she first arrives in BC. I expect this attitude from girls, but not from guys. I’ve always found it easier to make friends with guys, so I think this is why it bugged me as I couldn’t relate to their hostile attitudes. As we learn more about these characters, you can sort of see why they are the way they are, but I still think it was a bit extreme. 

Thankfully, every character gets a chance to grow in Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots.  And while the argument could be made that too much character development happened too quickly, I for one do believe that sometimes all it takes to change a young teen, is the length of the summer. Think about many times you would go back to school in the fall and the friends you thought you had and knew, had completely changed. 

Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read, one that made me nostalgic for summers past and the “great outdoors” of beautiful British Columbia.

Top Ten Tuesday: My Fall TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

I wasn't going to do Top Ten Tuesdays again this week, but then I thought maybe I could use this weeks topic of 'top ten books on your fall TBR list' to get my reading list organized for this fall. I rarely never have a reading plan in place, instead, I tend to just go to my bookshelf and grab a new book when I need one, But sometimes, this means I'll go a whole day or two without reading anything because I can't decide on what to read. Or I'll become too overwhelmed with my TBR pile to pick something. OR...I forget about the books I was so excited to read just last month. So without further ado, here are the 10 books I am challenging myself to read this fall. Most of them are no longer new, but they will be new to me! 

 
1. When God Was a Rabbit, by Sarah Winman. This is Septembers book club pick, and it is also my pick. Which means that I am hosting book club this month as well. While I think everyone should read every book club book, I definitely think you should read the book you choose!

2. We'll Always Have Summer, by Jenny Han. This is the 3rd book in the Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy and I absolutely loved the first two. I'm excited to finish this series.

3. Love Anthony, by Lisa Genova. My boss received an ARC of this book which comes out this month, but decided it wasn't for her. She passed it along to me, feeling the subject matter is much more up my alley. I'd love to finally read a book *before* it's released. I've never had this opportunity because I've never asked for or received an ARC before.

The Tower of TBR

My husband and I were supposed to be in Nova Scotia right now for a holiday, but ended up having to move the trip to the end of September. The next few books are the books that I was saving for the trip and would like to read while I am there.

4. Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume. I've never read this book of Judy Blume's before. When I was getting ready to leave for my destination wedding last November, I asked Twitter for "beach-read" recommendations. (Ha! Silly me, thinking I would have time to read during my wedding...!) Anyway, a conversation occurred in which a friend of my SIL's highly recommended Summer Sisters, but my SIL was like "ugh, do not read that book" (or maybe it was the other way around, I can't remember). Either way, of course it made me want to read it all that much more to decide for myself, you know? I found an old paperback copy at Value Village a few months ago and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since.

5. On the Island, by Tracey Garvis Graves. I have read nothing but amazing reviews on other blogs about this book. When I picked it up for super-cheap at Costco one day, I decided I wanted to save it for the long plane ride to Nova Scotia. Flying is one of my favourite times to read, and I wanted to ensure I had an unputdownable book with me.

6. The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker. This cover was constantly catching my eye from the shelves at the bookstore, but the synopsis on the front flap didn't really grab my attention. Then I read a really great review of this book on Bookosaur that pretty much had me purchasing the book the next day!

7. The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough. My mother-in-law gave me this book several months ago. She said she had been keeping her eye out for it at thrift stores as she really wants me to read it. I generally cringe at the sight of old mass market paperbacks, but then a little discussion with her and a little research on this book had me bumping it up on my TBR list.


I know to most people, four books for a 10-day vacation doesn't seem like a lot, but I'll be lucky if I read two of the four. I always take more books with me than I will read because I hate running out of the things to read when I am travelling. How much reading I get done will really depend on how much we do in Nova Scotia. I can't read in the car so that takes away a large chunk of possible reading time.


8. The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate. I have had my eye on this book sine January. I even ordered myself a hard cover copy! But I'm a little nervous to read it as books about animals are almost always sad.

9. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs. I bought this book months ago because it's cover and pages are beautiful and eerie at the same time. I figure it will be a good Halloween read this fall!

10. Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. I don't think I need to say much about this book. It's been all over book blogs and best seller lists this past month. I picked up a copy at Costco the other week and can't wait to read it. I may take it with me to Nova Scotia if I don't get to it before then. 


So there we go! Hopefully now that I've put it down on paper the internet for everyone to see, I'll feel more accountable to sticking with my list. Unfortunately, at the speed I'm reading books these days, these ten books *could* potentially take me to the end of the year to read! Yikes. Or maybe this list will encourage and prevent me from wasting time in between books!

Tell me: What books are on your must-read list for the fall?

Saigon Sundays: Change is Scary

Don't be fooled by Saigon's size or his breed. He's actually quite the baby and is scared of the silliest things. Like vacuum's, brooms, ladders...all those scary household appliances! He's also very wary of anything new - like this new dog dish we bought him yesterday.

 

He was so worried that he actually cried a little bit and I had to hand feed him the first few bites.  Which I also had to repeat today. And will probably have to repeat tomorrow. Until he figures out that it's just his dish, but raised. He's a funny one. Jim was able to get a quick video of Saigon's first reaction to the new dish.