The book Be Not Far From Me by Ashley McGinnis is a book that follows Ashley, a hot-headed, determined, and stubborn high schooler. On one unlucky camping trip, she went on with her friends, her boyfriend at the time and her boyfriend Ashley got separated from the group. Ashley witnessed her boyfriend, Duke, cheating on her, and being a hot head, she decided to storm off into the woods drunk and alone, which did not seem like such a bad idea at the time given Ashley knows the woods very well and was a champion cross country runner; however, Ashley wakes up the next morning in the middle of nowhere major hangover and has to figure out how to survive in the woods and find her friends all by herself. While reading this book you will come to see that it is quite literally a book you cannot put down. It is exciting and constantly has you wondering what will happen next and if Ashley even has a chance at surviving. However, while reading the book, I did find myself somewhat annoyed at the character of Ashley. One of Ashley’s main saving grace would be that she is relatable because she is not that rich and has divorced parents, but I do not relate to her struggles, which makes the character a lot less enjoyable. She can come off as annoying and makes irritating comments throughout the book, but one thing that cannot be denied is that she is resourceful and does everything to the best of her ability. Ashley does end up growing throughout the book and becomes more and more tolerable, she ends up realizing that her problems are not the biggest in the world and are worse than everyone else's. This book has many admirable aspects to it, but it certainly has its flaws. Some points feel like they do not need to be that long, but you still cannot put the book down. The thrilling part of the book and the constant highs and lows Ashley has to work through make the slower parts worth it. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller, I especially recommend it if you feel like you would relate to the character of Ashley because I feel like anyone who does would be able to like her character a lot more than I did.
Ranya J.
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