(I want to thank Penguin Random House and NetGalley for letting me read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.)

Every once in a while a book comes along at exactly the right time for exactly the right audience. Lauren Wolk’s new novel “Echo Mountain” may be such a book. Her newest work is a heartwarming and hopeful tale of self-discovery, determination, and the importance of community in difficult times. Thrust into a hardscrabble existence by the Great Depression, twelve-year-old Ellie and her “newly poor” family are adjusting to living off the land in the wilds 1934 Maine. Ellie’s mother and older sister Esther resist the change and long for the comforts of town, while Ellie finds herself an “echo-girl,” embracing both sides of her life as she comes of age on the mountain.

After her father is badly injured by a falling tree, Ellie wonders if her father will ever wake from his coma and is on a mission to return him to her family. To accomplish this, Ellie knows she will have to be brave, try new things, and learn by doing. Against her mother’s admonitions, Ellie ventures up the craggy slopes searching for possible cures. Balsam sap? Skunk stink? Stinging bees? Putting a black snake in her father’s room? Nothing is off the table. What else can she try? Along the way Ellie meets Larkin, a mysterious boy who leaves her carved wooden figures, and old hag who lives in a dilapidated cabin at the top of the mountain. Ellie has to decide whether to listen to her mother’s advice and stay away from her new friends, or help heal the old woman’s suppurating leg wound. Ellie is torn between her civilized past and her growing love for the natural world with a new sense of self it kindles in her.

Wolk’s simple, yet poetic style captures both the beauty of the Maine landscape and the trials of life on the mountain. “Echo Mountain” with its vivid descriptions of puppies, adventure, and friendship also offers young readers a realistic portrait of a family finding joy in their “new normal.” This novel would be an excellent summer read. It might even inspire children to take a hike, try fishing, go camping, challenge themselves to do something new, or simply enjoy being outdoors and free to play.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were relatable, which I appreciate. There were a few “gross” moments with Cate’s leg, so I would recommend it to an older audience.

Wasn't able to review before book was archived on NetGalley? 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Such a lovely book. Great for fans of survivalist fiction and historical fiction in general. The writing adds a nice distance from the horrors of gangrene.

Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk is a story about a young family who is forced to leave their life in the city and head for the mountains during The Great Depression. The main character, Ellie, and must learn to do things to help her family like skin a deer, fish, garden, all the things necessary to survive life on the land. Tragic events lead Ellie to realize she has more gifts than just simply surviving on the land.
I was completely consumed by this story. The character development and story-line were superb. It is not a quick read, as it is an involved story with beautiful, descriptive language.
Thank you to Edelweiss + for the digital ARC.

I am a fan of Lauren Wolk's writing and magical weaving of a story. This takes place on Echo Mountain, focusing on a family who is forced to leave the city and start over in the mountains during the Great Depression. They have been there for three years and a few months prior the father is hit in the head with a fallen tree and left in a coma. Ellie, the main character, is determined to save her father which in turn will save her family. Ellie is a great character with heart, smarts, and drive. I liked seeing her interactions with her younger brother Samuel, with whom she seems to get along with best. Her older sister, Esther, and her mother seem to miss the city most and have a harder time adjusting. Mysteriously left wood carvings lead Ellie further up the mountain where she meets a boy and a hag. Ellie is now determined to save not only her father but the hag as well. The friendship between Ellie and Cate, the hag, is a beautiful thing to watch. Cate gives Ellie a push to find her courage. This story definitely has some drama but it's done in such a gentle, storytelling way that you just get swept along. A solid character-driven middle grade novel. Definitely recommend this!

This is a beautifully written middle grade historical fiction novel. Ellie's family is forced by the Great Depression to leave their comfortable lives and move to a cabin in the mountains. Her family endures many hardships, including an accident that puts her father into a coma. Despite the many obstacles that she now faces, Ellie finds that living in the mountains provides her with an awakening and a purpose that she had't previously felt. Historical fiction can provide valuable lessons that are transferable to the lives of young readers; there is no better time than now for a book that illustrates the themes of resiliency and fortitude in the face of adversity. Ellie is a unique and engaging character, and some of the grisly yet intriguing elements of living a life in nature will grab the attention of middle grade readers.
Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this captivating novel.

I absolutely could not stop reading this! I loved every character and did not want the story to end. I am not ready to let this story go!

Ellie's mother and father moved their family to the mountains when the Great Depression made it impossible for them to keep their home in town. Although the mountain is wild and unknown, Ellie finds herself thriving in the new environment. She even has a secret friend who leaves small woodcarvings as gifts. Things are harder though after Ellie's father is struck by a tree and falls into a coma. Ellie shoulders the unfair blame that is heaped upon her by her sister following the accident. As the blame pulls her sister and mother farther away from her and the family struggles to survive, Ellie feels that only by waking her father will her family have a chance to mend. With pluck and determination Ellie will take readers on her journey to learn the secrets of the mountain, befriend her mysterious gift giver, and bring her family back together.

VERDICT is this is a beautifully written book with a lot to offer young readers, caregivers, and teachers alike. Lauren Wolk weaves a tale of survival that entails shouldering responsibility and doing your best in seemingly impossible situations. This is a historical fiction novel that I think will not only shed light on the Great Depression era but speak directly to many young people now who, like the protagonist Ellie, are also living in their own unprecedented time and having to forage onward with a new social consciousness and responsibilities.

I received this ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When the Great Depression hits, Ellie's family is forced to leave the life they knew in town. They spend the last of their money on a lot of a land on a mountain where they build a house, plant vegetables, and raise livestock. For Ellie's mother and sister, this change is a hard and unwelcome one, missing town, its conveniences, and the people. Ellie, on the other hand, loves everything the mountain and its woods has to offer her. She loves learning with her father, finding little treasures left by a mysterious friend, and living amongst the animals. After her father's accident, however, Ellie takes on many of the jobs her father once did, and though she doesn't mind the work, she misses the man who taught her so much, and is determined to find a way to help him get better. Along the way, she finds help in the most unlikely of places, and discovers her father isn’t the only one needing to be healed.

I loved this book. This is by far my favorite of Lauren Wolk's middle grade novels. Ellie is an easy character to fall in love with, and her story had me from the first chapter. Samuel too is a sympathetic little brother. I think there are many readers who will be hooked as easily by this gem as I was.

There are some books that while reading you feel that you've been given a gift, that the author has bestowed upon you a bit of magic. I felt this way when I read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, and I felt this way while reading Echo Mountain. Lauren Wolk has captured the beauty of the mountains of Maine while juxtaposing them with the hardships and struggles of the Great Depression.

Ellie's family was devastated by the crash. Her father lost his business as a tailor, and no one could afford a music teacher even though her mother was an excellent one. When the family moves to Echo Mountain to start over something awakens inside Ellie. It is as if she is where she was always meant to be with a little bit of wildness growing in her like the buzzing of the bees or the growl of a bear. Her mother and sister Esther do not take to this new life the way Ellie and her father do and little Samuel is a boy, wild like the mountains anyway. As the family scrapes a life together from this wild place, tragedy strikes and her father is injured. Ellie must gather all her strength to learn to be what her family needs her to be.

Wolk's characters are as beautiful and well-developed as her setting. The magic she weaves through her storytelling is a gift to her readers. This book will find a place in my K-5 library and will be recommended for grades 4-8.

Echo Mountain is historical fiction set in the time of the Great Depression. Ellie's family has been forced, like so many others, to change in many ways. Her family used to live in town, and now must move to the mountains, and learn to live life by means of few people and nature. This becomes increasingly difficult when Ellie's father falls into a coma. Between taking care of him, and another character along the way, this book is about healing, and more importantly - hope.

I was rooting for these characters all along the way, and although it is a slow burn - I found myself carrying through the story rather quickly. I enjoyed Ellie's voice and perspective, and will recommend this to fans of a family story.

Ellie's family moves to Echo Mountain during the depression, where they must carve out a new life for themselves. An accident in the family both brings them together and drives a wedge between them and Ellie feels it the most, feeling like she is wilder than the rest of her family. Wilder like the mountain they now call home. She has a special gift for feeling the animals and nature all around her and wants to use and grow that talent. Echo Mountain, the book, is full of love - love for family, love for nature and for finding out what you're capable of.

I loved the poetic writing of this book. I felt as if I were in the story experiencing life on the mountain. It was a captivating story that grabbed you right away. If you love the outdoors and animals, this is a great story for you. Ellie is a typical middle child trying to find her place in the family, with an older sister who seems to know best and a little brother that is always in need of protection. Ellie also has a father that needs constant care due to an accident, and she wants very much to help him. Life on the mountain is hard, but Ellie is courageous and brave. Ellie uses her knowledge of the mountains to help her find a way to help her family. She also gets the help of a mountain boy and the mountain hag and her dog to help as well. When reading this story, I did not feel as if I were out of touch with the time period even though the time period is during the Great Depression of the 30's. I really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it for upper elementary and middle school children.

Ellie and her family struggle to survive on Echo Mountain. Having carved an existence out of the mountainside after the Great Depression took everything from their family, they are dealt another blow when the father, Ethan, is severely injured. Readers will find a story that shows even in the harsh (and cruel) realities that life can bring, joy is still there if you know how to look for it. This book is a quiet but powerful story about human resilience and the power of the spirit.

In this Great Depression era novel, Ellie and her family struggle to survive by moving from the town where they’ve lost their livelihoods to the Maine mountains where they can live off the land. After an accident leaves her father in a coma. Ellie takes it upon herself to try to revive him and in the process learns about community, friendship and personal potential in the face of obstacles.

This novel is well-written and the action draws the reader in. While it is not for the faint of heart with scenes featuring dangerous wild animals and gruesome injuries, it speaks to the resiliency of humans fighting to survive and offers hope to us in our present day struggles.

Lauren Wolk has done it again in this interesting, moving piece about a young resilient girl (Ellie) who is determined to find a way to help her father after an accident that she is blamed for leaves him in a coma. Things were already tough for this family: both of Ellie’s parents lost their jobs during this story set during the Great Depression and had to transplant their family from a city life they enjoyed to the woods in Maine. Wolk creates a strong sense of place and the character-driven plot makes this book hard to put down, which is both good and bad during a pandemic! Ellie embraces the beauty and power of her new home in the Maine mountains more so than her mom and sister. She visits a “hag” who she hopes will be able to help her father, and in turn, Ellie ends up helping the reclusive woman who inspires Ellie’s interest in healing more than just her father. With her family so divided during these challenging depression-era times, Ellie finds a way to bring together her family and find a place in her new mountain surroundings.

This wonderful story starts with Ellie, a 12 year old, saving a puppy's life. The runt of the litter didn't start breathing right away but Ellie had an idea to dunk the baby into a bucket of cold water. The baby started to breath and Ellie's strength in her own intuition grows. Ellie's family has moved up to a cabin on the side of a mountain in the midst of the Great Depression. Her mom and sister would really rather be back in town but Ellie and her little brother Samuel and their dad love being out in the woods. Until her dad has a terrible accident that leaves him in a coma. In searching for a cure for her dad (the doctor says there's nothing they can do), Ellie finds someone else who needs her help, a woman who lives further up the mountain that everyone refers to as a hag. It turns out the hag needs help too and the healing that Ellie finds isn't just for the hag. This is a lovely story of healing and faith and believing in yourself.

I want to thank Penguin Random House and NetGalley for letting me read an I corrected ARC of this book. I read this book in less than 18 hours, and that included reluctantly putting the book down while I slept. But as soon as I woke up in the morning I was wondering what Ellie and Larkin were up to and how Cate was doing. Sometimes Middle Grade fiction books are predictable in a good way. But sometimes they are so unpredictable in all the best ways and that describes this book. Without giving away any spoilers, I will just say that I never thought to look for connections, but when they happened I was thrilled and eager to continue reading. You can read about the plot of the story from the summary. I describe the book as listening to your inner fire; finding the desire that burns so strong that you listen to nothing and no one else, even those you love - or because of those you love. I marvel at a 12 year old who takes on and bears the weight of truth, so that others can live less burdened. I am not a “crier” when it comes to reading books, but I will admit to crying through the last 3 chapters. Couldn’t help myself. I have loved all of Lauren Wolk’s books and now this one as well. Adding this one to my Best of 2020 list.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51969326-echo-mountain

I was surprised to realize at the end of this book that all of the action takes place in just a few days. Each character is developed and rich, and the story also has a strong sense of place. All of that leads to a tender story. I tried to put this book down to do some things around the house, but the story kept pulling me back until I relented. The plot is really good, but the writing is what keeps me coming back to Lauren Wolk's books.