I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting idea behind this book with lots of action and adventure. This book would be good for fans of nature and the great outdoors. The writing is good and well pitched at a younger reader.
However, the book has some very dark twists and turns which may not be as appropriate for younger readers. Also the parents in this book were incredibly self centred and unlikeable to me, which didn't lend well to enjoying reading this book.
An OK read.

Francie and her parents are on vacation from Canada to hike the Grand Canyon. After stopping for gas in a small town, her dad decides to take a short cut down an old lumber road. The road gets progressively worse, the vehicle bottoms out in a huge pothole and punctures the oil pan, thus incapacitating the vehicle. Francie’s dad decides to walk for help with a GPS that he either doesn’t understand how to use or is faulty. Francine stays with her mother. As the wait extends, the family dynamics are revealed: Francie’s twin sister died of heart failure and her mother has not learned to cope with it (even though she is as school counselor. And with the way the mom acts in the story THAT is scary.) She has periodic mental breaks that leave Francie and her father to fend for themselves. In addition to the mental breakdowns, she self-medicates with “special tobacco.” Francie’s parents don’t really get along; they seem to be staying in the marriage for the sake of Francie. Francie feels her mother wishes she had been the one to die instead of her sister, so she spends most of her time with her dad who taught her to work on vehicles and be self-sufficient and independent. Francie’s latest interest has been survival skills, and it is these skills that keep her and her mother alive. When she wakes up one morning to find her mother gone and either looking for help or her dad, Francie survives on her own.

In promotional materials, this book has been compared to Gary Paulsen’s “Hatchet.” I see the comparison, and think there will be an audience for this book with kids who like stories about surviving in nature after emergency or traumatic situations. To be completely honest, I did not like “Hatchet” even after reading it multiple times and trying very hard to like it. I chose to read this book because I hoped with the backstory of Francie’s life, it would be a little more interesting for me. It wasn’t. I did actually like the survival stuff and Francie’s bravery and ability to take care of herself in the forest, but she had so much baggage dealing with her mother, her parent’s relationship and the thoughts of her sister, that I just felt worse and worse for this poor kid. The ending kind of pushed me over the edge too, because it just wasn’t fair how much Francie had dealt with....and now she would never get to her be the kid. She is going to have always be the adult. That poor, poor girl.

There will be a middle grade audience for the book, but personally, it was sad and depressing.

RED FOX ROAD is a compelling story by Frances Greenslade.
Francie and her parents are on road trip and are headed for the Grand Canyon to go hiking. Trusting the GPS the family ends up on a deserted logging road hoping to return to the highway. After two hours of driving on the bumpy trail their vehicle breaks down. The next day the father heads off with the GPS to find help. Mother and daughter are left on their own with scant supplies. Francie loves nature and has been in interested in the wilderness for quite some time.
A few days later Francie wakes up to find her mother has left to go looking for help as well. She has left Francie a note with implicit instructions to stay with the truck. On her own and fighting for survival Francie faces many obstacles.
RED FOX ROAD is a story of survival not only in the wilderness but with challenges that day to day life brings.
I loved the story because I loved Francie. She is an amazing and memorable character. Great reading for the upper end of the 9 to 12 group.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read an advanced e-edition of RED FOX ROAD.

I'm all for survival stories, and this is probably more useful than the classics like Hatchet or My Side of the Mountain. Because Francie has knowledge of survival skills. She's as prepared as a suburban kid can typically be but she makes mistakes. Fear drives her to act rashly, to go against her knowledge and choose badly. What gives me pause is some of the dark turns this one takes. It certainly doesn't have a neat and tidy, happily-ever-after type ending. In fact, I'd argue that it doesn't truly resolve but rather just sort of ends.

This is a compelling story about Francie who is going on a two week hiking trip to the Grand Canyon with her parents. Except that as they are driving, her dad decides to take a short cut on a logging road. The car is damaged and eventually stops working. The family decides to stay put and hope that someone finds them. After two days, no one finds them, so the dad decides to hike out to find help. After another five days, Francie's also leaves to find help. Francie has been reading a survival book so she has some ideas on what to do, including how to build a fire with a single match. The family was not super well prepared for trip-they do have sleeping bags and a camp stove, but no real food and so once Francie is on her own, it's up to her to figure out how to eat. I think a lot of kids might like the survival aspect of the story, but the parents part of the story feels unbelievable to me. There was also a mention of a sister who died that pops up once awhile that didn't feel fully explained as well as the mom's mental illness. The ending felt abrupt and incomplete. I finished it but it wasn't my favorite.

Francie and her mother and father are taking a road trip for spring break and traveling from British Columbia to the Grand Canyon. A wrong turn puts them on a logging road that gets rougher and rougher. Eventually, their vehicle stops, and the damage it has sustained is such that it won't start up at all. They have some idea of directions, and the father thinks he can hike to a main road and get help. Francie and her mother stay in the car for a while, trying to stay warm, and existing on mints and granola bars. As the time drags on, Francie is concerned about her mother, who occasionally smokes "special tobacco" to help with her problems' dealing with the death a few years back of Francie's twin sister. Francie doesn't know all the details, and seems oddly disconnected from the death of her twin, other than seeing how it has derailed her guidance counselor mother. When her mother takes off to get help and leaves Francie alone, she must rely on her knowledge of being outdoors (derived from a book on the subject) to gather rainwater from leaves, know which plants are edible, and construct shelter. She adheres to the rule of staying where you are when you are lost for quite some time, but eventually decides to venture out in search of civilization. Will she be able to make it?
Strengths: I love that we are starting to see riveting, detail rich survival stories with girls as the main character. This is a genre that is consistently popular, so many of my older titles like Carter's Rock and a Hard Place (1995), Klavan's If We Survive (2012, and Johnson's Ice Dogs (2014) and are badly worn. The details of survival are fantastic, and Francie's knowledge of techniques is well explained. The interludes thinking about the past work well.
Weaknesses: Most middle grade readers will know that marijuana smoke has a "skunky" smell even if they haven't smelled it. It seemed very odd that Francie wasn't told exactly why her twin died; the blame and guilt were realistic, but the level of grief seemed off. As for the mother, a school counselor, neglecting Francie and self medicating with drugs-- I always feel that this is an insulting way to portray grieving parents. Just do. Always will.
What I really think: I am torn on this one. On the one hand, it's an excellent survival tale, but my personal feelings about the way the mother was portrayed left me not liking the book. With other good survival books out recently, like Behren's Alone in the Woods and Disaster Days, Bowling's The Canyon's Edge, Diaz's Santiago's Road Home, Lambert's Distress Signal, Esplin's 96 Miles, Olson's Into the Clouds, Van Draanen's Wild Bird, Bledsoe's Running Wild, and Freeman's Alone, I am debating purchase.

If you’re a fan of survival stories like I am, you’ll enjoy reading this book. I couldn’t put it down! In this one, the main character’s parents are along for the ride, but Francie ends up on her own. She has to use her own knowledge and smarts to figure out how to get through some scary moments. I really liked her resourcefulness. This story was different than other survival stories I’ve read because Francie had to worry about her mom’s mental health as well as how to stay alive. A great read!

When a family of 3 embarks on a road trip from British Columbia to the Grand Canyon, they find themselves stuck in the wilderness after their vehicle malfunctions.

Thirteen-year-old Francie and her parents must put their survival skills to the test by building fires, foraging for food, and gathering fir needles for tea.

One by one her parents attempt to find their way out of the woods, leaving Francie to fend for herself.

She loves the outdoors and has read many survival manuals, so she is more prepared than others would be for this experience. But, will the long days and dark nights get the best of her?

This book has my heart. It is geared for ages 10-14 and lovers of the Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. It is a wonderful survival story! Highly recommend.

Red Fox Road is a fantastic middle-grade survival story. Francie has been waiting for an outdoor adventure her whole life but when her family is stranded on an old logging road it may be more adventure than she bargained for. As her father goes to find help, her mother's mental illness is brought to light and Francie must survive not only the forest but a past that is threatening to overcome her. The ending was a bit disappointing and Francie's survival skills were pretty advanced, but overall it was an enjoyable read that fans of survival and adventure stories would enjoy.

Oh my gosh the end. I love a survival story, because they stay pretty high tension for the whole time - and this one did not disappoint. There were some parts that could be predictable if you know what a survival story tends to need/have - but there were some big twists/surprises that had me shook.