Educational and kept me intrigued. Many tips and pointers. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Underlined for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy reading survival stories. They are typically fast paced and action packed. I can’t say that I loved this story but I did like it. It’s hard to pass up the chance to read about wayward teens being sent out into the woods as a cohort. The chapters are very short and quick which helped the story to move along and develop faster. Once the action started it didn’t seem to stop. Like any b-rated action movie once you’ve bought in you find yourself sticking around to see how it ends. Regardless of the mediocre writing or the unlikable main character.

Since the death of Dawn’s father she has made one bad decision after another. And her mother and stepfather are finally tired of it and decide to do something about it. They send her to “Out of the Wild”, a wilderness camp for troubled teens. The camp is meant to break kids down and build them back up to be more productive people. Upon arrival each teen is in the beginning stage and referred to as a bear cub. There are several cohorts of teens, referred to as Packs. Each pack is led by two adult camp counselors. The packs are made to hike day in and day out and earn the gear they need to survive the elements. But when things take a wrong turn Dawn quickly realizes she just has to survive. But can she?

Overall, this book was just okay for me. However, I would recommend it to high school students who enjoy a fast paced action adventure/ survival story.

This is not my usual read but I am telling you that it hit the thriller role right on the mark.

It was terrifying and exhilarating and I could not put it down. It is intense and sucked me in right the beginning.

I was drawn to this book because it was set in nature. The writing beautifully details the PNW which added a part I appreciated woven into a captivating story of survival and healing.

I loved the short chapters. It helped my feel like the suspense was continuously building. Wells definitely recommend this book!!

This book was wildly entertaining (pun not intended, but I am keeping it), and nearly impossible to put down. We meet Dawn, and Dawn is a mess of a person. She makes basically all the worst life choices every chance she gets. Her judgement is trash, frankly. So, Dawn’s mom and stepdad decide she needs to go to this boot camp in the woods for “bad” kids. Dawn, for her part, is pissed. I didn’t blame her, because I’d be pretty salty if I had to hang out in the woods with a bunch of strangers (who may or may not be actual criminals, in some cases) for an indeterminate amount of time.

The book is written in such a unique and fun style, it hooked me almost immediately. The author basically breaks the fourth wall, in a very humorous way, and I loved that. It gives the book a bit of levity that it would otherwise lack, considering the heavy subject matter. Because things are indeed heavy. Dawn has been through hell, with the death of her father, and her turning to drugs and a really inappropriate, unhealthy, and illegal relationship with a much older (and awful) man. And now she’s at this camp, and you know shenanigans are afoot.

The campers and the counselors set out for some rough experiences in the woods. Things will turn ugly, obviously. And we’ll get to see whether Dawn has really learned anything from her experiences. It’s harrowing, Dawn’s wilderness adventure, and I shan’t say anything else other than I was hooked until the end.

Bottom Line: A definite page turner with a unique style, I was immersed in this story from start to finish.

3 Stars!

What a fun, interesting read. Owen Laukkanen writes in a very straight forward manner and speaks directly to the reader. The chapters are also nice and short. It was a unique, enjoyable writing style.

Dawn is a seventeen year old on a bad path. He father died two years ago and ever since, she's been hooked on pills and living with her drug dealer. Her mom and stepdad finally had enough and send her to Out in the Wild, a wildness therapy program. This is where Dawn meets the other troubled youths, The Pack : Warden, Lucas, Brandon, Evan, Kyla, and Brielle. They are accompanied by two counselors, the creepy Christian and the angelic Amber. They are forced to hike trails and camp together. Things end up going sideways. No spoilers here. It was a fun ride. I was engrossed and wanted to find out what happened next. A few parts were a bit unbelievable to me, that's why I withheld some stars, otherwise, it's a wonderful adventure.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Owen Laukkanen for providing me with an ARC.

Decent story, easy enough to follow. I would read more books by this author. Overall, I liked the characters, the plot, the dialogue, and the wrap up.

3/5 Stars

With short chapters, unique formatting, and an intense plot, The Wild is a Young Adult Thriller that, despite my usual narrative preferences, is quite difficult to put down. Set in Washington's wilderness, The Wild is the story of trouble teen Dawn and her even more troubling experience at a teen survival program, Out of the Wild, meant to break her of her bad choices. Her parents are promised that it will come with counseling and important adult experiences, that a reformed daughter will return, but no one knows the horrors she'll really return with. Dawn is actually likeable as a character, she's the kind of teen who would actually benefit in the long run from the experience, and she does, but not in the way the program says she will. The wildnerness doesn't help every teen, some of them it changes. Instead of learning survival and wilderness techniques, she has to just survive.

Thanks to the author's notes and general predictability of the story I knew what might come, but Laukkanen's writing style kept me engaged. I don't usually like omniscient narrators, but in this case it helped view the story. It was like holding a map and seeing the characters movements, what brought them here, where they'll go, and why. It's definitely more of a coming-of-age young adult read, these teens aren't in a troubled teen program for no reason, their experiences are that of adults. I liked the thriller aspect of it and I really enjoyed the character development that takes place through the entire novel.

While it didn't hit it out of the park for me, this book will certainly find a happy home on reader's shelves.

This book is YA thriller at its finest! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and didn’t want to put it down.

The story is set in the wilderness and that provides the perfect backdrop for Dawn (our MC) to battle through her own internal “wilderness” and by the story’s end, totally change the trajectory of her life.

Dawn is a troubled teen. She runs away from home, lives with a much older drug dealer, and spends her time trying to dull her mind enough with alcohol and drugs to forget a tragic event that happened in her past. Her mom has recently remarried and Dawn resents her new stepdad. Her anger, bitterness, and regret have caused her life to spiral out of control. She’s headed down a dangerous path and she isn’t even out of high school yet.

Enter Out of the Wild, a wilderness hiking and survival program for troubled teens. Early in the story, Dawn’s mom and stepdad send her there against her will. The program involves a series of grueling hikes through the forest and mountains, accompanied by camping and backpacking. It’s a miserable experience, designed to force troubled teens to progressively earn their badges and eventual graduation from the program. The hope is that by the time they’ve graduated, the teens in the program will have conquered their demons and will be ready to reenter society with new values and a sense of purpose to direct their lives.

But as the story eventually proves, the wilderness doesn’t always bring out the best in people. When things start to go really wrong, Dawn must choose between saving herself and doing the right thing. But doing the right thing could get her killed, either by the hand of the wilderness or by the other members of her recovery group. It’s a fight to the death for survival.

This was such a fun and engaging book. However, there are a few pointers worth noting.

First of all, the format was a little unusual. The author uses an omniscient narrator and extremely short chapters to keep the tension high. It’s a very clever stylistic choice, but can be a little jarring at first.
Second, there is quite a bit of adult content in this book (even though it’s written for YA). A LOT of foul language, references to drugs, underage drinking, and underage sex. Rebellion toward parents, bad attitudes, etc. It’s just content to be aware of if planning to allow a child to read it.

That said, this book is a story of transformation. Transformation that comes from harsh and painful life lessons. It’s well worth the read and totally enjoyable to boot. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it.

This book was fairly decent. It was a story of survival and teens who get into trouble a lot. I thought the beginning of this book was kind of slow and that the story was predictable. But overall I enjoyed the journey and the character development.

This book was a wild ride in the wilderness that was filled with nearly nonstop action and character growth. This book starts out with the main character, Dawn, being 'kidnapped' by her family and sent to a rehabilitation program designed for troubled teens whose parents feel they have exhausted their options of trying to help their child on their own. Dawn is reeling from the death of her father and has slipped in to a toxic relationship and drug and alcohol problems. The program is called Out of the Wild and takes teens out in to the wilderness to hike and camp in dangerous and mountainous terrain as they confront their issues. As one would expect, things start to go terribly wrong and Dawn is in a struggle for survival against not only the wilderness, but even her other campmates.

This book is similar to other survival books in the genre but as a whole there aren't a ton of books like this out on the market. It is different from the young reader classic survival book, Hatchet, in both the higher stakes and the danger that is added with the threat of the other campers. This book was well-written and I really enjoyed the "author's notes" chapters that would give the reader more information and background while also providing foreshadowing and suspense. The short chapters and quick plot make this a fast read - especially because readers will need to know how it all works out. I liked the character of Dawn in that she knew she was in need of help but didn't know how to either get help or what she even needed in order to get control of her life back. I believe that many teens will find something to relate to with not only Dawn, but also some of the other members of the camp. She was tough and never gave up and seeing her growth from the very beginning, who she was during the book, and where she ended the book was rewarding for me as a reader.

I liked that this book didn't shy away from the terror and dangers of the situation these characters were in, but there was a lot of violence and descriptions of various injuries throughout the book that I found hard to read. Although I suppose that can probably also be seen as a positive because it meant that I truly cared about the characters and reading detailed descriptions of injuries/accidents/falls made my heart hurt for these characters as if they were real. I will definitely recommend this book for teens and adults who want a high stakes adventure/survival story with some characters you'll root for and some characters that will terrify you.

4/5 Stars.

This book picked up a little slow but it got really good it was YA but still had darkness to it.

At first i expected it to be not so dark but im glad it kept getting a little darker as i read.

This book is about a troubled teen who got herself into a relationship with a guy who was really not a good guy and the family hated him but she also did drugs etc so her parents kidnapped her one day knocking on his door and told her to get in the car and they took her to the airport.

They sent her to a camp with other teens like her not knowing that this camp was not what they thought it was.

It was very survival based in the woods/wild which i liked.

After around 60% is when it got super super good.

Dawn's mom and step dad have her kidnapped by Out Of The Wild, a wilderness therapy program for troubled youth.
She's making bad choices in life, doing drugs and hanging out with a much older low life dealer.
Her guilt over her father's death has her needing to escape reality.
She and a group of wayward teens are taken out on punishing hikes, camping in the middle of nowhere with two instructors.
And then things start to go wrong, really wrong!
This YA thriller has some Lord of the Flies vibes going on.
Imaginative and action packed, with a high level of tension in the story that keeps you reading.
Thank you Random House Children's Underlined for the e-ARC via NetGalley.
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

Though I have one of Laukkanen's books for adults in my TBR, this young adult thriller is actually my first encounter with his writing. This, as the title suggests, is a wilderness thriller - perhaps not the most original set up to the story, as the author himself notes, but with short chapters and a rather unique style, this book feels quite fresh.

Dawn is a troubled teen, running away from home, using drugs and spending her nights with a much older man (also, her dealer). When her mom takes her to a wilderness survival camp that guarantees to turn her life around, this sets the stage for the rest of the book and the program itself. There, teens learn about nature, survival and have to earn amenities like tents, backpacks, better food. When disaster inevitably strikes, it reveals the true nature of this group.

The short chapters and unusual narrative style keeps the pacing quite quick here - once you get used to the omniscient narrator, which is a bit jarring at first. I really found this to be a quite addictive read. I had a hard time putting it down and found the characters to be likable and authentic. I am quite curious about his books for adults now!

Dawn is in a deep downward spiral. Her parents hope a stint at a camp for wayward teens will be what she needs to turn her life around before it't too late. The camp brings unexpected and terrifying challenges no one could have foreseen. Fans of thrillers with strong female leads will devour it.

I absolutely loved this book - survival, a BEAR HUNTING THEM, etc. The somewhat quirky writing style was also a bonus (breaking the fourth wall is one of my favorites) and I enjoyed the backstory for the main character and her reasons for being at the rehabilitation camp.

"(She knows that she hasn't been Doing the Right Thing for a long while now, probably ever since her dad died.) (But that doesn't mean she can't start.)"

Dawn has been in a spiral of bad choices since her father's death, and she's shacking up with her older, drug dealing boyfriend when her mother and step-father finally step in. They ship her off to Out of the Wild, a wilderness camp for troubled teenagers where Dawn is forced to hike all day and camp at night, earning the privileges of tents and camp stoves. She's miserable and unused to roughing it, but when a dangerous trail takes a deadly turn, Dawn and her Pack are suddenly fighting for their lives in the wilderness--and the wildlife may not be the only thing trying to kill them. Trigger warnings: character death (on-page), parent death (off-page), bury your gays, severe injury, drug use, sexual harassment, slurs, grief, guilt, blood, vomiting. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Random House/Underlined.

Laukkanen's writing style and I do not get along. It alternates between short, stark sentences of the action and meandering run-ons of Dawn's train of thought with hardly a description in between besides Warden's Green Eyes (because of course). In terms of books that put me inside their world, this one never manages it. The writing seems to favor humor above everything else, including plot, character development, and not spoiling its own plot twists, but it's not half as funny as it thinks it is. It's got a Lemony Snicket style where the narrator occasionally intrudes on Dawn's story with side-commentary, but it's more baffling than anything. If you recall, Lemony Snicket is a side character in A Series of Unfortunate Events, but it's never clear who the narrator of The Wild is supposed to be, just that it isn't Dawn. It's one of those instances of style not serving function at all, and you know how much I hate things that are just there for show.

Plot-wise, it's about what you'd expect, except, as I said, the narrator is at pains to spoil any twist before it happens. We're literally told a character is going to fall off a cliff right before she falls off a cliff, which is not only wholly unfunny, but undermines any sense of tension or terror. The wilderness is plenty scary by itself without any murderous teenagers on the loose, and it's far more frightening than Laukkanen's antagonists. The book tries to align itself with others of its kind, like Lord of the Flies, but where that's an effective parable of society crumbling, The Wild is a novel of bratty teenagers who are absent adult supervision for all of thirty seconds before they riot. There isn't a bit of believable character development to be found, from the group breaking down that fast to Dawn's sudden resolve to be a good person when she's never shown an inkling of anything besides self-interest for the entire novel. It's a fairly grim ending with a high body count and a truncated sense of overall purpose. Dawn might have been changed by the experience, but if she was, we're not there to see it. I could take that as a comment that further trauma isn't a conduit to healing, but that seems like giving The Wild too much credit.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

Thank you net galley for providing me this eBook in exchange for a fair an honest review. So I love this premise of troubled teens learning to rough it. I love watching Dawn through her recovery process. The only thing that was disappointing was the random narrator. It just didn't flow right and sometimes killed the suspense. Otherwise a great read!

Best enjoyed outside where you can smell fresh air and dirt–even better if you can surround yourself with forest.

Dawn messed up. Dawn messed up bad enough that her mother and her step dad showed up at her middle aged drug dealing boyfriend’s house to pick her up and drag her off the Out of the Wild, a program for wayward teens. Now, Dawn is experiencing some of the toughest situations she’s ever had to deal with…at least the ones she’s willing to talk about.

Along with other messed up kids like her and int he company of two counselors, it looks like Dawn is going to be hiking non-stop over the course of the next three months until she can prove that she is responsible and respectful and has turned her life around. Maybe it will give her the opportunity to confront ‘WHAT SHE DID,’ the thing that started her down this path in the first place.

When things go horribly awry, Dawn is not only going to learn–quickly–about what she is capable of and what she is willing to do in order to survive, she will also need to learn what Doing the Right Thing really means if she has any intention of living with herself.

I’m a sucker for survival stories, especially those where someone who is completely unprepared to get lost in the woods does exactly that. Extra points when something nefarious or untoward is occurring at the same time. So many extra points. I really dug this whole story and I practically gobbled it all down in one sitting.

It reads as a very matter of fact guidebook without losing its flavor. Even with the obvious foreshadowing–and I mean, the author literally tells you that something bad is going to happen and points out mistakes that the characters make–there were still some surprising twists and turns. It gets very Lord of the Flies-y while also maintaining the dark, urgent, survival-driven vibe of the movie “The Edge.”

Laukkanen did an amazing job of describing the landscapes and scenes, the struggles, aches, and pains, and even the scent of the very air. You are sucked right into the story, experiencing it right next to the characters and embracing the exhaustion, excitement, and fear as if you are there. Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the advanced reader copy, provided in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This was definitely an entertaining read. It tells the story of a girl that has gone off the rails being kidnapped and sent to one of those outdoors boot camp type places that sort of scares/exhausts kids straight. Of course, this is a book, so it wouldn't be interesting if things went exactly as planned. The voice in which this story was told was a semi-sarcastic narrator that made for some interesting interjections. Overall I think this was a good sort of man vs man, man vs nature thriller type book.

I picked up this book because the synopsis sounded so interesting to me. And also that cover is so beautiful!

It’s a YA Thriller. This is my first YA thriller and I’m here for it!

It follows Dawn our main character who is being sent to a wilderness program meant to help troubled teens. And of course nothing goes right.


The style of writing was a bit different. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. The author is basically speaking directly to us the readers. There were authors notes scattered throughout the book. And even telling us what would happen in the next chapters (spoilers). But as odd as I thought it was at first I ended up really loving that! It’s just so creative and fit so well with the story.


I really loved this book. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. I devoured this book in a couple hours.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this eARC.

Check this book out when it comes out in September