Review: BOYS, BEARS AND A SERIOUS PAIR OF HIKING BOOTS by Abby McDonald **** + A GIVEAWAY!

Scroll down to see how you can
win a copy of Abby McDonald's
excellent debut novel LIFE SWAP!

Jenna may hail from the ’burbs of New Jersey, but Green Teen activism is her life, so she leaps at the chance to visit her hippie godmother, Susie, up in rural Canada. Jenna is psyched at the chance to commune with nature for the first time — and the cute, plaidwearing boys she’s certain must roam there.
But after a few run-ins with local wildlife (from a grouchy old moose, to Susie’s sullen Goth stepdaughter, to a hot but hostile boy named Reeve), Jenna gets the idea that her long-held ideals, like vegetarianism and conservation, don’t play so well with this population of real outdoorsmen. A dusty survival guide offers Jenna amusing tips on navigating the wilderness — but can she learn to navigate the turns of her heart?

I've read & loved both previous books by Abby McDonald (Life Swap/Sophmore Switch & The Popularity Rules) so I really couldn't wait to get my hands on her latest YA work and surely enough, it didn't disappoint! Abby McDonald delivers again - honestly, she writes just the kind of either YA or adult books I *love* to read!

This is the story of Jenna, who's 17 and very passionate about the environment, but her family is falling apart. Her parents are spending the summer apart and she suspects they're on the brink of divorce so in order to avoid the drama, Jenna decides to spend her summer with her godmother Susie in Stillwater, Canada. It takes Jenna a while to adapt to the wilderness, but she's determined to become friends with the local boys (Ethan, Grady & Reeve) and not let the bitchy Fiona, Susie's step-daughter, get her down. Her persistance pays off and she indeed spends a glorious summer in Canada. She goes kayaking, climbing, hiking, swimming, cycling, she falls in love properly for the first time, she encounters a moose and a bear and all that while trying to save Susie's bed and breakfast and keep her romance a secret.
Without all the distractions and limitations of the city life, Jenna lears a lot about herself and also has to reconsider everything she's so passionately fought for. She learns that things aren't as simple as she thought and she learns to put things into perspective, but everything she's been through during the summer, she learns she's now tough enough to face the music and deal with what she's been avoiding.

What's not to love about this book? The plot is quite original and far from boring and flows nicely, just like the writing. The novel features an idyllic but a crucial summer of self-discovery, it deals with friendships, broken families, homosexuality, romance, environmental issues, growing up and so much more. It's hilarious and awwwtastic and serious and empowering at the same time. The characters are very well portrayed and great to read about. Everything just works so well together and it's all so fitting - the setting, the plot, the characters, the dialogue and even the lovely cover, which is like the cherry on top.

I'm not saying that I was completely blown away by this book, but I thought it was a fantastic coming of age story that especially teenagers will easily relate to; it was a simple, quick and very enjoyable read, but it was also meaningful and just oh so lovely - it would make a great film actually! Just like the previous two books by Abby McDonald, I thoroughly enjoyed this one too and I cannot wait for more by this author - next up is her adult novel The Liberation of Alice Love (out in July) and then the rumour has it that she's already finished her next YA novel called The Anti-Prom, which comes out in 2011!

overall rating:
plot: 4/5 | writing: 4/5 | characters: 4/5 | cover: 5/5

To learn more about this promising author (she's only 25!), visit her website.
Boys, Bears and a Serious Pair of Hiking Books is officially released on April 13 and you can read the first chapter online.

* * *

And now for the GIVEAWAY! I ended up with an extra copy of Abby McDonald's fabulous debut novel LIFE SWAP (also known as Sophmore Switch in the US, my review here) and I thought this was a perfect opportunity to give it away to one lucky reader.

• the giveaway is open internationally
• it ends on April 12 at midnight your time and the winners will be announced on April 13 when Boys, Bears and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots is released
• you don't have to be a follower to be entered, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me WHO you would swap your life with (+1)
  

For extra entries:

• follow my blog (+2)
• follow Abby McDonald on Twitter (+2)
• tweet about this giveaway - provide link (+2)
• post about it on your blog/sidebar (+2)

Good luck, everyone! :)
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