Review: The Starlight Claim by Tim Wynne -Jones

Title: The Starlight Claim

Author:  Tim Wynne-Jones
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publishing Date:  September 10, 2019

Pages: 240
Genre: YA Survival/ Thriller Suspence

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

Four months after his best friend, Dodge, disappeared near their families' camp in a boat accident, Nate is still haunted by nightmares. He'd been planning to make the treacherous trek to the remote campsite with a friend -- his first time in winter without his survival-savvy father, Burt. But when his friend gets grounded, Nate secretly decides to brave the trip solo in a journey that's half pilgrimage, half desperate hope he will find his missing friend when no one else could. What he doesn't expect to find is the door to the cabin flung open and the camp occupied by strangers: three men he's horrified to realize have escaped from a maximum-security prison. Snowed in by a blizzard and with no cell signal, Nate is confronted with troubling memories of Dodge and a stunning family secret, and realizes that his survival now depends on his wits as much as his wilderness skills. As things spiral out of control, Nate finds himself dealing with questions even bigger than who gets to leave the camp alive.

I liked the sound of this one so I grabbed it on NetGalley a while back. My life got in the way and well I didn't get around to it til recently. I wanted a fast paced chase scene, scared to look around the corner, kind of book. I thought by the sound of the premise, I would get this. The book was okay and it had some quite good scenes, but it didn't quite deliver in the way I needed. 

Nate and his best friend Dodge, grew up together, and there was a camp in the woods where both boys' families stayed for vacation. The last time Dodge went up with his family, they didn't come back. Nate is desperate to find him, find out what happened, and get closure on the entire thing. He ends up going to the camp on his own and when he gets there finds there are strangers staying in his cabin. Strangers that are dangerous and don't want to be found. Snowed in, no way out, and in a dangerous situation, Nate must quickly figure out how to survive the weekend.

The book sounded so good when I first grabbed hold of it. It was okay, for the most part I enjoyed it. I had a few issues with it. The story was good and interesting. I enjoyed the survival and the danger. I think my main problem is that I didn't feel it was suspenseful or thrilling enough for what I was promised. It did have a few good scenes, but for the most part the book read as a coming of age for me. Which is fine, just not what I expected. 

The main character, Nate, I liked. He was very resourceful and strong. He is quick thinking. He has some guilt going on that is weighing him down. He goes to his families cabin to get answers about his best friend. He gets answers, just not the answers he was expecting. When his world becomes dangerous and turned upside down, he does what he needs to not only survive, but still do the right thing. 

The book was promised to be fast paced. For me, it was a bit slow. The entire book happens in one weekend and I felt the weekend lasted forever. I wanted more chase, more shadows lurking, more bone chilling and thrilling moments and didn't get that. 

What I did get was an interesting, a little emotional, slow burn through a very broken mind. Which was a good journey for what it was. I think if you go into this read expecting it for what it is, an emotional coming of age journey, you will enjoy this read. Just didn't feel it was a suspenseful thriller at all. 

It was an okay read. I enjoyed it, just not what I was expecting and wanted at the time of the read. 

 Wynne-Jones (born 12 August 1948) is an English–Canadian author of children's literature, including picture books and novels for children and young adults, novels for adults, radio dramas, songs for the CBC/Jim Henson production Fraggle Rock, as well as a children's musical and an opera libretto.

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2001): The Boy in the Burning House
Edgar Award
◊ Best Young Adult (2002): The Boy in the Burning House

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.