Girls of July by Alex Flinn

The Quick Cut: Four teen girls spend a month in the woods escaping their typical lives and end up making friends, going on adventures, and learning about themselves.

A Real Review:

 High school can be incredibly complex. Between the social angst, attempt to figure out who you are, and the increasing pressure to plan your future/succeed in academic life, the pressure can be overwhelming. What would you do if the pile of stress was getting to you? For these girls, that answer was escape to a cabin in the electronic no go zone. 

 Britta, Meredith, Kate, and Spider are all struggling with a personal battle that appears impossible. Trying to find a way to escape, they go to the woods and stay with Spider's grandmother to obtain a little peace. Can they find what they're looking for or is it just attempting to escape their problems

 Britta, Meredith, Kate, and Spider are all struggling with a personal battle that appears impossible. Trying to find a way to escape, they go to the woods and stay with Spider's grandmother to obtain a little peace. Can they find what they're looking for or is it just attempting to escape their problems?

 I loved this book from page one and couldn't put it down! These four girls are so real that you can feel what they're going through. Each one has a dynamically different personality and problem to navigate. In the process, they not only find solace on the things bothering them, but even come to solutions and become friends (which is a harder mountain to climb for some). 

 While I will admit this one is quite long for a contemporary novel, I think it's justified considering the number of leading characters and storylines woven together. Each girl not only interacts together (and narrates chapters), but has storylines involving situations at home. That takes time and thus pages. 

 One particular props I have to give the book is it's portrayal of anxiety and panic attacks in academia. The character Meredith struggles with this and seeing how this subtly plays out with her fright over her future and college says a lot. Do we push teens too far when it comes to succeeding? The answer may be yes based on what I'm reading here. 

 With beautifully woven tales about four girls, this contemporary novel will keep your interest. 

My rating: 5 out of 5