Ashley Hawkins is strong, fiercely independent and doesn't back down from a fight. Raised in small town Tennessee, Ashley is practically a hillbilly - living in trailer with her father after her mother walked out on them both, hunting to add food to the table, able to shoot a gun and use her fists in a fight. That fighting spirit has got her into trouble, but it has also lead to her winning running races and earning a full scholarship to college - her chance at a real future. She also has two close friends who alternate between keeping her sane and driving her nuts, and a boyfriend who takes her as she is. Life isn't perfect, but it works.
A party in the woods doesn't seem like a bad idea - booze, good friends, the chance to get cozy with her boyfriend Duke - what more could a girl like Ashley want? Even though they can't have sex because Ashley has her period, the night seems to be working out great - until she stumbles across Duke and his ex-girlfriend having sex in the woods. Determined to get away from them both Ashley runs off into the woods after giving Duke a (very physical) piece of her mind and finds herself lost and injured in the woods far from help and with nothing but the clothes on her back and her wits to help her survive. AS the days pass by and her injury becomes infected Ashley has no choice but to fight on, using the skills she learned from Davey Beet at summer camp to survive - trying to ignore the niggling voice that says Davey walked into the same woods and never returned, so what chance does she have.
Mindy McGinnis has written across different genre, and her book A madness so discreet is one of my favourites from the past decade. McGinnis writes strong, relateable characters that suck you into their story pretty quickly, and Ashley was no exception. Ashley is smart, observant, and sees the world for what it is - she has learned that life is hard, but that feeling sorry for yourself doesn't get you anywhere. As we follow Ashley through her 'now' we learn more about her 'then' and why she is the way she is. This isn't a fluffy girl power novel, a chance to show perfection - at times it is gritty, scary, and leaves you wondering if you could do what Ashley does, if you could survive.
I won't say too much more because this is a story that needs to be read more than it needs to be reviewed - but I will say that this is a book for more than the teen audience it was categorised for at my local library. This is a tightly written novel that has relateable characters and life threatening situations that I was hooked on as an adult reader. This is also one of those books that may have a female lead character, but will appeal to a wider audience as well. One of the must read teen (and adult) novels of 2022.
If you like this book then try:
- The lovely and the lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- In another life by C.C. Hunter
- Holding smoke by Elle Cosimano
- Nearly gone by Elle Cosimano
- The stranger game by Cylin Busby
- I hunt killers by Barry Lyga
- Dead to you by Lisa McMann
- Burning blue by Paul Griffin
- Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong
- What waits in the woods by Kieran Scott
Reviewed by Brilla
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