The Distance from Me to You

July 20, 2015
Gessner, a pseudonym for author Nina de Gramont (The Boy I Love), offers a wilderness adventure dashed with romance and danger. High school grad McKenna decides to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alone—and withholds that detail from her parents—after her best friend Courtney backs out of their planned months-long trip. Everyone underestimates McKenna’s ability to complete the journey (even when they think she’s still with Courtney), and she is determined to prove them wrong. Meanwhile, Sam is on the same trail, hiking neck and neck with McKenna and escaping an abusive family. As they run into each other almost daily, sparks fly and love blossoms. The third-person omniscient narration, which includes occasional interludes from McKenna’s worried mother back home, can be awkward and emotionally distant, especially during McKenna and Sam’s first sexual encounter and when describing McKenna’s thoughts (“she reminded herself that anxiety and exhilaration were close cousins”). Despite this, many readers should find it easy to relate to McKenna’s desire to take risks, prove her independence, and finish the trail at all costs. Ages 12–up. Agent: Peter Steinberg, Steinberg Agency.

August 1, 2015
A girl decides to hike the Appalachian Trail on her own and meets a boy who may actually be living on the trail. Almost 18, McKenna has been planning to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail with her best friend for the past year. When the friend drops out, McKenna lies to her parents and sets out on her own. On the trail she meets Sam, who has escaped from an abusive home and has been walking the trail, getting jobs in various towns, for months. McKenna greatly enjoys her adventure and only reluctantly becomes involved with Sam, but when she does, they become a couple, falling in love. Overconfident about their wilderness skills, they leave the trail despite warnings and soon realize that they have put their lives in danger. Gessner writes vividly of the trail and hiking, describing backpacking gear, birds, scenery, and many of the difficulties hikers encounter, along with the easy camaraderie hikers find along the AT. She brings McKenna and Sam to life as well-rounded characters, gradually building their relationship to a satisfying and realistic level. The star of the show here, however, is the Appalachian Trail and the adventures the teens experience on it. Good romance, great wilderness. (Romance. 12-18)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2015

Gr 10 Up-McKenna Berney and her BFF Courtney made a pact to defer college for a year to hike the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. When Courtney bails on her, McKenna is determined to face the challenge alone. With miles of practice hikes under her belt, and top-notch gear, the protagonist sets off on her journey. While on the trail, McKenna meets Sam, who is a high school dropout and on the run from his abusive father. Their friendship quickly evolves into romance. Their journey on the trail is rigorous, with miles of choppy terrain and limited supplies until they reach a local town along the route. When Sam has the idea to go off the trail, something rule-following McKenna would never consider, she gives in, thinking it will be an adventure. That decision puts their love and survival skills to the test. Gessner's debut novel speaks volumes about what it means to truly survive in the wilderness, both alone and with the one you love. Situations including wild animal confrontations, starvation, dehydration, and near death are addressed with authenticity. The panic and fear that set in when they lose their way will strike a nerve with hikers and nonhikers alike. Gessner handles dishonesty (McKenna's parents think that Courtney is with her), first sexual experience, and survival with the utmost sensitivity, shedding light on the range of human emotions. VERDICT A great add to YA collections, especially for those with a taste for the outdoors.-Erin Holt, Williamson County Public Library, Franklin, TN

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2015
Grades 9-12 McKenna Berney is full of plans. Her first is to hike the Appalachian Trail with her best friend, even defering her college acceptance to do it. But when her friend backs out, McKenna decides to go anyway, lying to her parents in the process. It is dangerous, foolish, and exhilarating, but McKenna learns to respect the trail and makes steady progress on her own. Then she meets Sam, gorgeous but damaged. A thru-hiker, he is using the trail as a hiding place from his abusive father. They fall in love, become overconfident in their invincibility, and leave the trail with predictably dire consequences. While Sam is a sympathetic character, this is McKenna's story. She comes of age on the trail, literally (she turns 18 while hiking) and figuratively, learning that her plans are more than childish dreamsthey're the building blocks upon which she will thrive as an adult. This book will have new adult appeal for readers who are ready to leave their own childhoods behind.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)