This was the challenge of survival. Female protagonists surviving against the odds that nature, in varying degrees, challenges them with, but in very different time periods. So our vote went with Echo Mountain.  But to be honest, I don't see either of these taking up a spot on our book shelf. So here are our comments - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Amine: “Be Not Far From Me” -

 I found it hard to believe that she was lost in the woods for such a long time. The language in the book is not appropriate, and I would not feel comfortable having it in a school or classroom library.

“Echo Mountain” -I enjoyed this novel. The protagonist is strong and her ability to adapt and persevere is inspiring. “If I’d learned anything from the mountain—and from my father—it was that I felt stronger and happier if I was able to do a hard thing and do it well.” This would be a great book for middle school.

Chandra: 

Echo Mountain - Wolk did a great job at creating suspense and slowly unravelling various aspects of the story. I loved the details about how they built a life and survived on the mountain, the plants used for medicines, and her special connection with the animals. I can see it being a good fit with middle grades or junior high - the central themes of resilience and importance of community in the face of hardship are certainly timely! 

Be Far From Me - Did the stereotypical teen drama really need to be in the first section? Or could there have been a different catalyst for her getting lost in the woods? And it’s funny how one line can put you off a book - when she said “On a good day I can put in eight miles on the trail,” she lost me. She was supposedly an avid outdoors-person and hiker, and EIGHT MILES was a good day? Pshaw, I say, PSHAW! 

Gisele: Echo Mountain seemed a little too nostalgic and sentimental; in the current reality of BLM, TRC, and BIPOC era, this type of sentimentality seems out of place.

Be Not Far From Me was a bit of a curiosity, with many elements of plot being fairly far fetched - first of all, who takes off their shoes to pee in the woods?? Cutting off her foot, laying next to a year old corpse…it was a bit much.  I did enjoy the parallel story of Davey though, and the depiction of her relationships with her girlfriends seemed interesting and realistic.

Be Not Far From Me had some bits that my students might take some gratuitous glee in, like the drunken party, sex and betrayal, however, overall these elements, along with the language, in this context, is not a book I would promote with my students.

Overall, my demographic consists of urban dwellers that hardly know there is a rugged river system in their backyard, so I suspect the interest level in either of these books would be minimal. 

Of the two though, I would have to go with ‘Be Not Far From Me”.

Shelley: Even though Echo Mountain is for a younger audience, it was still a compelling read with some crafted elements. The themes of adapting to life experiences and accepting/respecting others are developed in an entertaining and thoughtful way. The novel Be Not Far From Me was more “age appropriate” for high school, but I did not really care about the protagonist. She was supposed to be this knowledgeable tracker and outdoor person, yet she let a “cheating boyfriend” disturb her so much that she gets lost for days… As a feminist, I hated that. Here she was this expert and then she became the damsel in distress.

So Eastglen speaks for Echo Mountain!