The flowers are blooming, the weather is getting nice, and it’s time to get outside! Or maybe read books about being outside! Or both!
Whether you’re outdoorsy or outsidey, we’ve got a book for you!
In Hollow by Taylor Grothe, Cassie moves back to her hometown in upstate New York while navigating a recent Autism diagnosis, where her mom hopes the familiarity will allow Cassie to feel normal again. But her old friends resent her for ghosting them when she left town four years ago. They extend an olive branch by inviting Cassie on their backpacking trip to Hollow Ridge, in the upper reaches of the Adirondacks. But when a fight breaks out their first night, Cassie is separated from her friends and bad weather is approaching. Cassie is saved by a boy named Kaleb, who whisks her away to a compound of artists and outcasts he calls the Roost, where she feels an eerie sense of belonging. But as the days pass, there are strange happenings around the Roost, noises in the trees and Cassie has to wonder if the dangers are in the forest, on the trail, or in the Roost itself?
If you’d like your outside adventures with a touch of romance, give Our Shouts Echo by Jade Adia a try! Niarah Holloway’s only goal in life is to get through it unnoticed. That, and to spend her first summer in LA building a doomsday bunker in her backyard. Because the ocean levels are rising, minimum wage is a scam, and the people who are supposed to protect you will hurt you. But her perspective shifts when she joins a hiking/camping club and befriends Mac Torres and his wanderlust-driven friends. Now Mac—with his sunshine laugh and infectious optimism— is determined to show her another way to be. But in a world where the worst feels inevitable, can one summer be enough to light the way to a hopeful future? Can one summer be enough to fall in love?
Sometimes humans are far more dangerous than the nature, like in When I Am Through With You by Stephanie Kuehn. Ben Gibson is many things, but he’s not sorry and he’s not a liar. He will tell you exactly how what started as a simple school camping trip in the mountains ended the way it did. About how each member of the group had emotional baggage, secrets, and motives. About the weird group of adults they came across. About who lived and who died. About who killed and who had the best of intentions. And he’ll tell you about Rose. But he’s going to tell you in his own time. Because after what happened on that mountain, time is the one thing he has plenty of.
Want more adventure, more romance…maybe? In the Same Boat by Holly Green might be what you’re after. Last year, Sadie caused a disastrous wreck that ended her father’s twenty-year streak of finishing the Texas River Odyssey, 260 miles of brutal canoeing, and he’s never looked at her the same. Now, she knows that finishing the race with her brother, Tanner, is her one shot to redeem herself. She’s ready for anything…except Tanner ditching her for another team at the last minute. Sadie is left with Cully, her former best friend turned worst enemy. But as the miles pass, the pain of the race builds, they uncover the truth about their feuding families, and Sadie’s feelings for Cully begin to shift. Could this race change her life more than she ever could have imagined?
If you want to get into camping, but don’t want to spend a ton of money, check out Where Should We Camp Next? by Stephanie and Jeremy Puglisi. It is your guide to planning an amazing trip, featuring 200+ of the best and most interesting campgrounds and outdoor accommodations across the US, along with recommendations for cheap and free activities, restaurants, and more.
Urban Wild by Helen Rook is for the person who wants to get out and touch grass, but doesn’t really want to travel or camp. This practical book is filled with varied activities that will get you out and about whatever the weather, whatever the season. There are simple, step-by-step activities like “make something and burn it” or “take a tree shower” for each month that opens the door to nature in urban and suburban landscapes to help you begin a journey of discovery towards a lifelong connection with the natural world.
