From the cover:
"Ever since last year’s homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. It doesn’t hurt that their families are the modern day, Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets.
But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.
What could go wrong?
With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely.
And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars?"
Be warned, this book gets off to a slow start. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I warmed up a few chapters in and ended up loving it. Give it a chance, and I'm sure you will too! When the book starts off, Zorie and Lennon, former best friends, can't even be in the same room together. What could possibly have gotten between them? I braced myself for some cliche, easily avoidable conflict, but instead Jenn Bennett gave me some genuine, believable misunderstandings! So rare. So wonderful. There was also drama and life forces working beyond those misunderstandings, like Lennon going through things with his dad that Zorie hadn't known about. The depth to the central conflict in the story was a welcome surprise, since a lot of young adult realistic fiction in this vein tends to stick with things closer to the surface.
A few other things I loved: First, Zorie's relationship with her mom. I loved their interactions, they were some of my favorite parts of the book. Also, in general, the emotions throughout the book were so real. Lennon's longing and pain, revealed on their unexpected backpacking trip, how much both he and Zorie hurt being apart, how happy they were when they finally reconciled...I felt it all. Bonus feels: Lennon's sketches of Zorie hit me right in the heart. Finally, the setting. Being abandoned in the back country isn't ideal, but damn, what a setting for a story. I couldn't get enough. My biggest gripe by far with this book is that Zorie is into such an obvious douchebag at the beginning, but hey, who among us has not fallen for an asshole at one point or another? It happens...as much as I hated it, that didn't make it unrealistic. Shoutout to Jenn Bennett for capturing that regrettable crush moment so well.
Getting down to it...literally the moment I finished this book, I texted two of my sisters and told them they had to read it. It's good. Read it.
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