Hermione Winters is about to start her senior year of high school. As
summer draws to a close, she heads off to cheer camp with her coach and
her teammates, including Polly, her best friend and co-captain, and Leo,
her boyfriend. Knowing this will be the last time she attends the camp,
Hermione intends to make it the best one ever, to work hard, to enjoy
the challenges and the routines and the music and the friendships, and
to set a good example for her teammates and friends.
Then, on the
night of the camp dance, Hermione is raped - her cup of punch drugged
by a boy, she blacks out and wakes up in the hospital. The night holds
no memories for her past the blackout. She cannot remember the face of
her attacker, nor does she have any recollection of what he actually did
to her. All she knows is what the doctors, nurses, and detectives have
put together from examining her.
Her town is small; everyone
knows what happened. The hallways of her school are filled with whispers
and judgmental looks, and her relationship with her boyfriend
dissolves. But Hermione doesn't withdraw from social interaction or
change schools - the latter doesn't even occur to her. She doesn't like
being the subject of gossip or scorn or pity. She remembers who she was,
she knows who she
is, and she is determined to stay true to herself while dealing what has happened.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
by E.K. Johnston was above and beyond what I hoped it would be.
Compelling writing, complex characters, realistic dialogue - there is
much to praise here. This book could have been riddled with cliches; it
was not. It could have been predictable or saccharine; it was neither.
The events and reactions were feasible, believable, never farfetched or
contrived. The story was layered and nuanced, allowing for warmth and
humor sometimes when you least expected it (and most needed it).
Hermione
tells her story in first-person narrative. She is an intelligent,
resilient, mature young woman who is stronger than she knows. The
characters that surround her are so vividly drawn - especially Polly,
the fierce and loyal best friend who is equal parts fire and compassion -
that any one of them could have a book of their own. And that is one of
the loveliest things here: that the supporting characters are truly
supportive of Hermione, that she is not dealing with this alone - and
also that the supporting characters have their own arcs, their own
problems and heartbreaks and priorities.
There is so much I want
to say about this book. How it treats subjects such as sexual assault,
doctor's visits, therapy, and victim shaming head-on, honestly and
openly; how it encourages cheerleaders to be seen as athletes, not
airheads; how it includes a variety of characters of various ages and
personalities; and, most of all, how it allows its protagonist to be
human, to wrestle with emotions and choices and ultimately emerge
triumphant not because of or in spite of what happened/happens to her,
but because of how she chooses to see herself, not a victim, not a
statistic, not diminished, and how she chooses to live, unashamed,
undeterred, always moving forward.
I knew before I was raped that this year would be the end of something. I just thought I'd be able to control the ending.
And,
again, the magnificent writing: the choice of words, the steady pacing,
the characterizations; the importance of a chair, a song, a friend; the
details of a waiting room, a quiet house, an exuberant squad; the
feeling of flying -- There is so much to applaud here.
Both thought-provoking and profoundly memorable,
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
by E.K. Johnston is a triumph. I encourage people to read and re-read
this book and to share it with others. Don't be surprised if you find
yourself both crying and smiling as you turn the final page - and then
start reading it all over again.
If you like this book, you will also like
Swollen by Melissa Lion and
All the Rage by Courtney Summers.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear is included on my
Tough Issues for Teens booklist.
This review was
originally published at my blog,
Bildungsroman.
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