Nature Girl

April 12, 2010
Megan’s parents have dragged her to Vermont for the summer, hoping she will embrace nature and art, but the bratty 11-year-old is furious to be trapped in the country. “You don’t know how I’m suffering. Nobody does. Nobody cares,” Megan tells her friend Lucy, who couldn’t come—because her mother has Hodgkin’s lymphoma. When Megan gets lost on a hike, she becomes inspired to hike the Appalachian Trail to where Lucy is staying. Along the way she confronts her own insecurities, which take the form of a “yucky voice” in her head, and discovers her inner strength, as well as compassion for Lucy. Readers may be put off by Megan’s histrionics, but debut author Kelley mostly plays them for laughs (further amplified in scribbly cartoons), as when Megan nabs the family’s emergency cell phone to call Lucy (“I almost cried when I saw its shiny surface. You won’t believe this, but practically everything else in Vermont is made of cloth or pottery or wood”). Megan’s emotional growth is mostly satisfying as she conquers both the mountain and her own weaknesses. Ages 8–12.

March 1, 2010
Gr 5-8-Megan, 12, finds herself plucked out of the hustle and bustle of New York City and dropped into the heart of Vermont. Her parents insist that she explore her artistic side and commune with nature rather than relying on electronic gadgets for entertainment. When they send her on a day hike with her sister and her sister's boyfriend, Megan has an argument with Ginia and decides to hike the Appalachian Trail, by herself, to Mount Greylock, where she plans to make amends with her best friend, Lucy. Her quest proves more difficult than she imagined as she encounters a bear, rain, makeshift shelters, bullies, hunger, thirst, and fear at night, but she overcomes all of them. As she and her dog cover the 30 miles, she analyzes her relationships, especially the tattered one with Lucy, whose mother has Hodgkin's disease. Megan has little knowledge of wilderness survival, but her tenacity carries readers through to the end. She has never been a doer, and she is rarely motivated by anything, but spending time alone, she realizes that she has been very selfish and begins to change her mind about how she lives her life. Her voice is believable and honest, and her journey is both a physical and emotional success. Kelley's debut novel is a modern-day adventure story that turns its back on the cell phone and portable GPS and gets to the heart of real survival."Delia Carruthers, Roxbury Public Library, Succasunna, NJ"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2010
Grades 4-6 Twelve-year-old Megan, of New York City, is a thoroughly urban girl, whose artsy parents have decided to move the family to Vermont for the summer. Three hours of sketching every morning, no TV, no cell phone, no best friend Lucy to keep her company: Megan is bored stiff. She is also upset because Lucys mother has cancer, and Megan has no idea how to support her friend through this crisis. When Megans big sister takes her for a hike, Megan loses sight of her and decides to hoof it to nearby Massachusetts to drop in on Lucy and apologize. In her backpack is a copy of My Side of the Mountain, a few peanut-butter sandwiches, a journal, and some tofu strips. At her side is the tiny family dog, Arp, named for the artist. Megans narrative is funny, fresh, and charming, illustrated with the occasional stick-figure drawing. Calling to mind Marissa Moss Amelia series, Megans physical journey leads to greater self-knowledge and appreciation of others. Popular-culture references will date this title, but right now, its right on target.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)