As always Kristen Dwyer gives you all the feels.
The Atlas of Us is a journey not only for the characters but also for the reader. You’ll feel as if you’re on the camping trip with the characters. It may even inspire you to go on a hike/camping trip. There’s slow burn, will they won’t they, found family and remembering that it’s ok to not be ok.

The Atlas of Us took me on a rollercoaster of emotions! Atlas James might have lost her way, but she found an adventure of a lifetime while rehabbing trails as "Maps" in the Western Sierras, surrounded by her quirky team – Books, Sugar, Junior, and King. Talk about a trailblazing journey with a crew that's unforgettable!

This felt like a Taylor Swift song in the form of a novel! I devoured it in one sitting – it was like a compass guiding me through laughter, love, and life lessons. If you're looking for a captivating read that will leave you wanting to explore the wilderness and your heart, this is it! Five stars, without a doubt! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

PS: I made a book aesthetic reel for The Atlas of Us, and you can find it on both my Bookstagram and my Booktok!

I had so many feelings when reading this book. I thought it was an honest portrayal of grief, especially the grief of a teenager who has lost a parent to a cancer. All five characters were flawed and human, but likable. I loved the romance between Maps and King (especially their reunion) and the found family aspect.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Poignant and brimming with promise, Kristin Dwyer’s “The Atlas of Us” is a stirring novel that grapples with grief in the most powerful, and often unexpected, of ways.

While Dwyer tackles some heavy material here, she does so with sensitivity, and in a medium that still manages to immerse readers in the sort of beautiful escapism so many of us look for in a YA read. (The found friendships and budding romance play a big part in facilitating this.)

All in all, “The Atlas of Us” will impact you — and may even leave you changed for good.

*Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for a review.*

I really liked this book. The story and characters were very interesting and likable but real. Thank you NetGalley for the arc

The Atlas of Us dives deep into grief, and I felt a strong connection to the story, especially having lost someone near and dear to my heart from cancer. I knew that I would cry by the end of the book, mainly because Kristin wrote it, and let's be honest, it wouldn't have been true Kristin fashion if you didn't shed some tears, but also because of cancer.

Another thing Kristin does well is create strong characters that share some of the best banter. Junior was my favorite, and I loved the friendship that blossomed between Maps, Sugar, Junior, King, and Books. Sometimes coming together as strangers can turn into lifelong relationships, and it was beautiful to see, especially because Atlas (Maps) needed that connection after losing her father.

The chemistry between Maps and King was the one thing I wished was more explored. While it wasn't exactly love at first sight, their relationship developed quickly without much buildup. It would have strengthened the plot for me, but overall, I enjoyed the book, and Kristin is an author I trust and will always recommend to others.

Thank you, NetGalley, Kristin Dwyer, and HarperCollins Children’s Books/Harper Teen, for providing an eARC of The Atlas of Us. This review is being left voluntarily, and all opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up

I’m not sure if I know how to review this book. I laughed. I cried. The ending was hard-earned. It was both very on brand for Kristin Dwyer and completely different from Some Mistakes Were Made. Overall, I really enjoyed it. And I do recommend it—there were just a few things I couldn’t look past.

First and foremost, I do want to mention that I’ve seen other reviews saying the organization in this book bears a striking resemblance to the troubled teen industry and paints it in a much-too-flattering light in light of many recent survivor stories circulating right now. I am not as familiar with the troubled teen industry as I should be, so I really recommend reading those reviews and listening to those voices. This story itself does not ever affiliate what happens in the book with the troubled teen industry in any way, and as such I am giving the author the benefit of the doubt. But the fact that it has similarities to it is enough for me to mention it in my review, both because I think it is something important to be mindful of, and to serve as a content warning for any readers who might be triggered by the similarities.

Now, to get into my thoughts on the story itself.

There was a lot I really loved about this book, but the thing that sticks out the most—and the reason I enjoyed this more than I enjoyed Some Mistakes Were Made—was the raw and poignant exploration of grief. This book didn’t romanticize it. It didn’t dance around it. It showed us the ugliest parts of grief. And it was beautifully, heart-wrenchingly written. If you have ever lost someone, if you have ever grappled with the anger of saying goodbye, this book is for you.

I also did really enjoy the found family aspect of the story. All of these characters were flawed and broken, and they weren’t always great to each other—but they gave each other a safe space to be real and vulnerable. They gave each other a safe space to be ugly and angry. They gave each other a safe space. Period. Lovers of the found family trope will really love this iteration of it.

I had few issues with the book. Joe’s character as a whole was a big one—he seemed unnecessarily rude, crass, and overall in the business of making really bad decisions when it came to kids. He was awful to Atlas at several points. And the whole way that his “camp” was shaped felt just so dangerous? Putting kids on trails and letting other kids oversee it??? It was just one big terrible idea and he almost never supervised and honestly, I think he would have been an asshole to these hurting kids if he had.

My other big issue was pacing. The eARC was only 242 pages long—but that still felt way too long. There were so many scenes, especially at the end, that seemed to drag on and on. I felt like the bulk of Atlas’s healing took place in big info dumps across the last 40 pages. I would have liked less Troubled Teen Industry Hard Work and Labor and Tough Love from an Asshole Who Is Barely Even around and more of Atlas and her mom. More of Atlas and her friends. More of Atlas’s growth. In the end I felt like the most important parts of the story were glossed over just to get to the romance. And as much as I loved King and Atlas—they had a lot of shit they needed to work through before the ending, and I needed to see more of it on the page.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I think a lot of the internal exploration of grief will really resonate with readers. It’s not a book without its imperfections. But I think that’s part of its charm—grief is messy, after all.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All views reflected are my own.

OKAY, Kristin. Just like her debut, The Atlas of Us did not disappoint in the emotion and dialogue department. Kristin has such a unique way of transporting her readers into her characters' minds and thoughts, so you're almost one with them by the end of the book.

As someone who personally lost her father at the age of eighteen, this novel really struck a chord with me and helped heal some old wounds that have been lingering for 15 years. Sometimes all the therapy in the world will never be the same as words on a page and a character that takes you on a healing journey with them.

I really loved the setting and the dynamics between all of the cast. So grateful I could read this ahead of it publishing so I can help hype it over the coming months.

A beautiful sophomore offering by Dwyer, that establishes her further as a voice to watch in young adult contemporary.

As with her debut, this book is heartbreaking, hopeful, and healing at once. It is a story about love and grief, about the complex connection between them, and the people who come alongside you and help you learn to love again after loss.

There is brokenness and banter, friendships that turn to found family, and the kind of forced proximity setting that amplifies all these aspects beautifully—while touching on the very real impacts of climate change in California.

Beautifully written, compelling and thought provoking, these characters will work their way into your heart until you are rooting for them to not just love each other, but themselves.

So. Many. Emotions.
I wish I could explain how I feel better, because nothing I type is going to do this book justice. But alas, I shall try.

Dwyer has an incredible way with words, honestly, I think she’s made a deal with the devil to string such impactful words together. It’s so easy to immerse yourself into her words, the way she describes not only Atlas’s grief, but her surroundings, the main characters and their struggles. It’s so easy to become enthralled into her stories.

This book was incredible, blunt, extraordinary…I could go on. I don’t think I’ve ever been as emotionally invested in a story as I was with this one. I hurt with the characters, I felt their pain, their grief, their hope. It’s very rare that my emotions get the better of me when I read, but I found myself teary eyed on more than one occasion.

This story is one I will recommend over and over. Thank you Harper Teen and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of The Atlas of Us. I can’t wait for everyone to have the chance to read this sensational story.

The last few months have been awful, and Atlas doesn't have much hope left—so she's been sent out to the wild to do community service trail work. It's not voluntary, and it's a place her father loved deeply—one of the last places she wants to be. On the trail, Atlas is no longer Atlas: she's rechristened Maps, and she's set to work alongside people with equally oblique trail names: Sugar. Books. Junior. King. And it's King, a team lead in his second year of the program, who interests Maps most.

The shape of this community service program is fairly vague—unlike many troubled-teen programs (which this one might or might not be, officially—probably for the best, considering how problematic the troubled teen industry is!), there's little adult oversight, with just-barely-no-longer-teens teaching teens—or telling them to figure it out. Neither Books nor King, the leaders in Maps's group, is talkative, but it's King to whom Maps gravitates, and it's King whom Maps needles and spars with, and it's King with whom she trades smoldering gazes.

Where I really wished for more understanding of this community service program is with fire. It's two things that perhaps speak to something bigger: at one point, Atlas makes an error with fire, and she's read the riot act; later, another character makes a different error (though it's never clear what it is) with a fire, and—I just want to know, were at any point in time these characters taught fire safety basics? Because I'm not convinced that they were. (Fire errors aside, Maps is the designated tent-setter-upper, and she receives almost no more instruction than 'figure it out'.) In a dry state when climate change is upon us, that's just...a sign of bad planning, bad leaders, and a bad program. (I'm also really curious about their trail names, because...typically, trail names are earned, not bestowed ahead of time. I wonder what names they would end up with if they were to name each other?)

With all that in mind: I'm quite sure that I'm going to be in the minority in my neutral-positive opinion here—this will go over like gangbusters for readers of Simone Elkeles and the like. I'm in it for the wilderness, though, rather than for the romance, and I think this would have been a excellent book for me if it had been about friendship rather than romance—but I suspect that most readers will be in it more for the smoldering gazes, and they'll get more out of that (significant) chunk of the book than I did.

Go forth and into the woods, folks. Learn some new skills. Earn a trail name. Don't set anything on fire.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Oh my heart. Kristin Dwyer's books are so special. I think they are written specifically for me in mind (just kidding), but really: for those who love a good cry and a good emotional read.

Atlas is struggling with her grief after her father's death from cancer and she is sent as a last resort to help clean up a spot on a wilderness trail with other kids. The book delves into what it means to be "bad" and how to love yourself and others, how to open up your heart again. I loved the other characters that Atlas connects with and I especially love how much nature meant to her and her dad. This book is so beautifully written, and would be PERFECT for fans of Emery Lord and Jandy Nelson.

"Atlas of Us" is a compelling exploration of grief, as it delves into themes of anger, sadness, depression, and the journey of finding oneself amidst emotional breakdown. It beautifully portrays the process of healing and reinventing oneself to embrace a new beginning, bidding farewell to the past.

Atlas James not only experiences the loss of her father to cancer but also feels lost in life. Failing to graduate from high school and losing her job at a floral shop, she becomes antisocial, depressed, and struggles with anger issues. Her mother is unsure how to help her.

In a last-ditch effort to find the rehabilitation she needs, Atlas joins a community service program aimed at rehabilitating trails in the Western Sierras. The program is led by her father's best friend, Joe. Holding her father's bucket list in her hands, she embarks on the journey to complete the trail he had intended to hike but never got the chance to.

The program enforces strict rules, including a no-name policy. Atlas chooses the nickname "Maps," symbolizing her desire to navigate her own path once the hiking concludes.

During the program, she meets her teammates, including Books, Junior, Sugar, and the enigmatic King, who awakens complex emotions within her. Atlas tells lies to build walls and conceal her secrets, presenting a false facade of the person she wishes to be. However, she soon realizes that these four individuals can understand her pain, and with their support, she can freely experience sadness, shed tears, and face her struggles without judgment. Perhaps they can see the true Atlas, a side of her that no one else has ever witnessed. What will happen to her once the trail ends? How can she return to her old life and learn to live without her dad? And most importantly, how will she say goodbye to King, who means more to her than just a friend, as he departs for Alaska?

Overall, "Atlas of Us" is a poignant and heart-wrenching novel that guarantees to evoke strong emotions. It is a meaningful exploration of grief with a promising and inspirational conclusion. Keep your tissues ready as you embark on this tear-jerking and beautiful journey.

Special thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books/HarperTeen for providing me with a digital review copy of this amazing book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

3.5 stars

This is mainly a story about grief. It did such an excellent job at showing the grief process. I teared up at a few parts at the end. This book made me want to go camp and find myself. I didn't really like the friendships till the end. I also wanted to know more about the side characters. The romance felt very instalove and I wasn't as invested as I felt I should be.

The Atlas of Us was my first Kristyn Dweyer book and it was instant love for her style of writing. From the opening scene to the very last line my heart  ached in a million different places.

I will secondly say that this is a life after cancer loss story, a working through depression story, and it will trigger all the feelings.

In The Atlas of Us we follow along with a lonely young adult nick named Maps, she is drowning in the aftermath of her father's death. Experiencing issues with processing grief her life spirals out of control and she finds herself reluctantly taking part of a month-long hiking trip.

Accompanying her on the trip are four complete strangers who are also working out their own personal issues. Slowly, one by one, each story unfolds, and their facades fall.

Even though this story hurt so much I could not put it down and finished it very quickly, it was SO good.

My favorite leg of the book was after the trip ended, going through her dad's list, slowly letting people in one by one, her healing process.

I loved all of the characters, loved the reference to Howl's Moving Castle, and loved the ending - it made me feel whole after all of the sorrow.

The Atlas of Us is the perfect story when you have bottled up emotions and need a little nudge to  let it all out. It is for those who enjoy Rachel Griffin's writing style.

Kristin Dwyer doesn’t just write YA novels, she writes smart YA novels. Thought-provoking, poignant YA novels that are so real and raw that they tug at your heart at every turn. The way she writes emotion into every single line is incredible. The imagery was stunning and I felt as though I could picture every trail and every tree in the forest. The characters felt like friends. The conversations, authentic. Kristin Dwyer is one of the greats. Truly a storytelling genius.

The Atlas of Us is a breathtaking YA novel about grief and healing. It’s about the lies we tell—both to those around us and ourselves—to protect our hearts from hurting. But when we can’t shield them, it’s okay to feel our feelings, no matter how big they are or how silly they feel. It’s about finding your people in the most unexpected of places and how it’s okay to be messy. Find the people who love your mess—they’re out there, and they’re waiting for you.

I know I’ve said this before, but Kristin has the most honest YA voice I have ever read. It’s as if she ripped open her heart and soul and bled on these pages to finish this book. Like she has once again shown another piece of herself through her writing, and I think that’s a beautiful and precious thing.

I loved Some Mistakes Were Made. Every page was excellent. I laughed, and I cried. But The Atlas of Us made me feel even more. More emotion. More depth. More pain. Just, more. It’s really something special and I can’t wait until it’s out in the world for everyone to read.

This was such an incredible story. Adventurous, wonder, compelling, and delightful are the perfect ways to describe this story. The plot is executed well and the characters are well fleshed out. It pulls at you and keeps your interest the whole time.

There is something about Kristin Dwyer's writing that always punches me in my feelings - it happened with her debut, Some Mistakes were Made, and it just happened again with The Atlas of Us. A beautiful coming of age story about Atlas, nicknamed Maps, at a camp program where she hikes the trails Sierras as she deals with the loss of her father and finds forever family in the group she is hiking with.

"THE WORLD DOESN'T STOP. It marches on for hours and days. Grief doesn't care about time."
--
I was immediately drawn into this story. The writing is impeccable and the way Atlas struggles with grief is so relatable and gut wrenching. I'm not someone who usually much of a crier, but I'm two for two with Kristin Dwyer's books and I was sobbing as I read this, all in one sitting since I could not put it down. Perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, The Atlas of Us will give you all the feels wrapped into a warm hug of found family and a cast of perfectly imperfect characters.

Thank you netgalley for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a pretty basic YA novel with simplistic prose and a lot of melodrama. I think I've read too many books with beautiful prose, and have therefore been spoiled. This book also had a troubled teen industry vibe that made me very anxious... and the characters were pretty toxic. And it honestly might have gone on too long...? HOWEVER. I did like the reconciliation! And it had some really good lessons.

The Atlas of Us stabs your heart in all the best ways. I laughed, I cried - I went though the entire spectrum of grief as I turned the pages. I absolutely adored Maps, Sugar, Junior, Books, and King - their personalities and pure friendship came to life with Dwyer’s lyrical prose. The themes of grief and love were so well done and the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada provided the perfect setting. How can a book be so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time?! This is a true contemporary masterpiece.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Teen for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.