Review: Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis

Title: Be Not Far From Me

Author: Mindy McGinnis

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publishing Date: March 3rd, 2020

Pages: 240
Audio Length: 5 Hours and 28 Minutes

Genre: YA Survival 
TW: N/A

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

The world is not tame.
Ashley knows this truth deep in her bones, more at home with trees overhead than a roof. So when she goes hiking in the Smokies with her friends for a night of partying, the falling dark and creaking trees are second nature to her. But people are not tame either. And when Ashley catches her boyfriend with another girl, drunken rage sends her running into the night, stopped only by a nasty fall into a ravine. Morning brings the realization that she's alone - and far off trail. Lost in undisturbed forest and with nothing but the clothes on her back, Ashley must figure out how to survive despite the red streak of infection creeping up her leg

This is the third book I've read by Mindy and it definitely wasn't my favorite. Something I've noticed is that her books see to be just average. This one wasn't bad per say, but it wasn't great either. There was nothing that made it stand out in my mind, and it's not one I'm going to think about years from now. 

The cover is just kind of meh. I feel like it could have been something so much more, but it's just too minimalist for me. 



The story itself was a good one. The idea of getting lost in the middle of the woods, hurt... it's terrifying. It's easily one of my biggest fears. Being lost alone is awful. And it definitely makes for a good story that gives you the heeby jeebies and this one is definitely good for that. All of the things that Ashley goes through is something that can give anyone nightmares. 

The part I have a problem with is with her old friend who she loved who disappeared. It felt like such an awkward part of the book and I didn't even know if what she found was real or what. I feel like that part could have been kept out of things.



For a survival book I feel like this one was a bit slow. Even as things were happening I still felt like it was kind of slow. 



The writing is just so so. It's not terrible but it's not amazing either. This invoked terror sure, but I think it was more the thought of being stranded, lost, alone, hurt, etc.  As opposed to anything that was ACTUALLY happening in the book.

Not to mention I was quite confused about what was really happening through half the book, and I suppose that kind of makes sense, because she's hurt and feverish and has an infection. But it was almost too much because I kind of still wanted to know what was really happening. 

I loved her book Not a Drop to Drink, and the writing was great there, but it just fell flat here. 



Let met start with Ashley. She was an okay main character. She was very one sided and I felt like there wasn't much to her. She was very shallow and didn't think about anything except her camping and her old friend who she was in love with.

Her boyfriend. Oh my gosh. I hated him so much. Again talk about shallow. I hated him from the moment he came into the picture. And then a slightly hotter girl comes around and he just cheats? Just like that.

I guess I should just say that all the characters were shallow. They lacked depth. There wasn't anything special about them and I kind of hated them all, there wasn't any character growth and very little development.

The only good thing I can say about Ashley is that she was persistent. She knew she wanted to survive and she knew how. I don't really know how I would have reacted in her situation, but I'm sure I would have given up rather quickly.



I feel like there could have been some more description in this book. Something like this relies heavily on being able to picture where you're at, and I just couldn't here. I mean besides forest. I'm not a writer so I can't really say how it could have been better. Lol. 



The ending was just kind of meh to me. I don't know why and again I can't tell you how it could have been better. There's just something about it that just didn't sit right with me. 





Overall it wasn't a bad read. It just wasn't a super great read either. 

“If you’re quiet in the woods long enough, you’ll hear something die.”
― Mindy McGinnis, Be Not Far From Me

Mindy McGinnis is an Edgar Award-winning novelist who writes across multiple genres, including post-apocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery, and fantasy.


While her settings may change, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us.