Book Review: Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Hey! Thanks for tuning in! Today I have a book review for you. To sum up my thoughts on this book in one word, great. If I didn't have to study for finals I would have read this in one sitting. In this review, there will not be spoilers.

TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE

Summary: Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, this doesn’t mean what you think it means. At PHHS, the cheerleaders don't cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team—the pride and joy of a tiny town. The team's summer training camp is Hermione's last and marks the beginning of the end of…she’s not sure what. She does know this season could make her a legend. But during a camp party, someone slips something in her drink. And it all goes black.

In every class, there's a star cheerleader and a pariah pregnant girl. They're never supposed to be the same person. Hermione struggles to regain the control she's always had and faces a wrenching decision about how to move on. The assault wasn't the beginning of Hermione Winter's story and she's not going to let it be the end. She won’t be anyone’s cautionary tale.

Review: In the first couple of chapters, I thought that I wasn't going to like this book because of how peppy Hermione was. She's a cheerleader and that's what they are supposed to do, I guess. However, I was also a cheerleader and never have I ever met anyone who was as peppy as this girl was. Her peppiness bothered me a little but I trudged through and I'm so happy that I did.

I started to get invested in Hermione's story when she wakes up after being sexually assaulted. She doesn't know what exactly happened but she soon figures it out with the help of her best friend, Polly.

I think what made me really love this book a lot was the fact that the writing was really good. Johnston writes beautifully, The descriptions and emotions I felt from her writing made me realize that I was missing a lot of that stuff from the books that I normally read. Which is probably the reason why I gave a lot of three start reviews this year.

With Johnston's writing, I came to love the characters and began rooting for the peppy cheerleader I hated in the beginning. Everytime she did something or something happened to her I was just like "That freaking asshole" or "Are you serious?". I was completely invested in her life and everything the author threw at her because of how real everything was in this story. I read this like a memoir of someone's life, which it probably is because rape happens way too often. The other character I really loved was Polly, Hermione's best friend. Maybe it's because I'm not human or something but I've never really connected to someone the way that these two friends connected. It was really nice to see a best friend that didn't get jealous of the protagonist but was actually there and being a good best friend.

The other thing I loved about this book was the fact that it did talk about rape. I haven't read any books that deal with rape, which is probably my fault. I think it was refreshing to read about something other that reflected a real problem and a real life of someone. This book reflected some real scenarios that could occur and I loved that.

The only thing that made me upset was the ending. It was kind of a cliffhanger and I really wanted to know what was going to happen next (like were they going to win, was that really the guy who raped her, SO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS). But it did kind of fit with the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I rated it four stars. I don't think that everyone would love this book because it's not romance heavy like all of the popular books today. However, I do recommend that older young adults read this book just to be a little informed about rape culture while being entertained with the narrative.