Review / Out of Range

Book: Out of Range (2022)
Author: Heidi Lang
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: MG, Contemporary

Opening lines from the book …
Emma wasn’t a fan of strong words. So she mentally censored the word she was actually thinking and instead told her older sister, Abby, “I seriously dislike you.”

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK…

1) There are three sisters in this book, and we get to hear the story from each of their POVs. Abby, Emma, and Ollie all had distinct characteristics. (And guessing from the dedication, these are maybe based on the author and her sisters! I got the sense that Emma was probably the author herself.) And there are a lot of sisterly shenanigans as the sisters are in full-out war amongst themselves for most of the book.

2) This book was kind of like reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book, except without the second-person narration and turning the pages to different parts of the book! The plot follows the girls out in the middle of nowhere. We’ve got fires and cougars and bears and rivers! And boy do they make some poor decisions!

3) The plot alternates characters between the past and present. Little by little, we get an understanding of how the girls ended up on this wilderness trail! 

4) I really liked how Mr. Snuffles (Ollie’s stuffed animal) comes into play in the story. Won’t say more about it except that Mr. Snuffles is great, and that I agree with Ollie that he’s a hero.

5) And that author note! Wow. It’s one of those stories that makes you say: “This author has a great imagination” only to find that it’s based on a true story! (Yikes. Glad I wasn’t on that hike.)

FINAL THOUGHTS

This book is for those who like a good survival wilderness story! And there’s a lot of sister-drama. Involving a boyfriend and the Phantom of the Opera!

 

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YOUR TURN…

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…

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