A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay, 2017

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Every girl dreams of being part of the line—the chosen seven who tunnel deep into the mountain to find the harvest. No work is more important.

Jena is the leader of the line—strong, respected, reliable. And—as all girls must be—she is small; years of training have seen to that. It is not always easy but it is the way of things. And so a girl must wrap her limbs, lie still, deny herself a second bowl of stew. Or a first.

But what happens when one tiny discovery makes Jena question the world she knows? What happens when moving a single stone changes everything?

(272 pages)

Yikes. Just, yikes. This book has some serious grit in it. We're talking dystopian, cult-like, surgically-alter-your-daughters-to-make-them-thinner grit.

I know, when I say that your thoughts immediately leap to eating disorders and low self-esteem. But in Jena's world, the "Mothers" who run the village encourage girls to be as small as possible so they can crawl deep into the heart of the mountain that surrounds them and harvest the mica that provides them with fuel. It's a cruel world, this closed-off little village that has been completely isolated for generations because of a landslide that closed off the pass leading outside the mountain. This really weird semi-religious cult society has risen from the ashes of the villages that lived there before the landslide, and everyone is taught from birth to worship the mountain (which is seen as the giver of all life, since it holds the mica they need for survival). It's a dog-eat-dog world, one where life-giving mica is allocated to families in proportion to their usefulness, and where parents willingly bind their baby daughters from birth to force them to grow up small. It's like a more practical version of the Chinese foot-binding custom: they bind the whole body, to make suitable seekers of fuel, and then they actually use surgical procedures to alter girls whose bones are becoming too big. It's gruesome and horrible, but it also makes sense in a sick sort of way. After all, I suppose I'd rather be tiny than dead.

But the trouble is that all too often the girls become both. Because the mountain is treacherous, and maneuvering through its crevices a nightmare. I can't say much about specific instances of this, because I don't want to spoil the story, but some horrible things happen on and inside the mountain. It's painful and gruesome to read, but so fascinating at the same time that I devoured the entire book in one sitting.

Unfortunately, I can't talk much more about the plot, because even the most basic aspects of the story's set-up are teased out throughout the book. The story of Jena's past, for example, comes in bits and pieces: we learn that she's living with her best friend's family very early on, but the exact reason for this isn't fully revealed through flashbacks until over halfway through. I always love this sort of narrative technique, so I'm honestly not complaining, but that does make reviewing it a little trickier.

Actually, I think I'll just stop here. I really enjoyed reading A Single Stone and that others will, too. Have you read it? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section down below!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

In the Shadow of Denali by Tracie Peterson and Kimberly Woodhouse, 2017

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Cassidy Ivanoff and her father John, a wilderness guide, work at a prestigious new hotel outside Mt. McKinley. John's new apprentice, Allan Brennan, finds a friend in Cassidy, but the real reason he's here--to learn the truth about his father's death--is far more dangerous than he knows.

(320 pages)

I hadn't read a "chick flick" book in a long while, so I thought I'd shake things up a bit. I always like books about mountain climbing, and I've never read a book set in Alaska before, so In the Shadow of Denali had all the makings of a unique and grabbing read for me.

And for the most part, it was that. The characters were slightly flat, it's true, and the romance was truely cringe-worthy (and the villain ridiculously stereotypical), but those things honestly didn't bother me as much as they probably should have. The fact is that I really loved Cassidy, who was a good mixture of sweet optimism and realistic emotions. I didn't like the men quite as much (they were all a little too perfect for my taste), but reading about Cassidy's time in the kitchen, all the foods she makes and her growing friendship with the head cook Mrs. Johnson, was what kept me stuck to the story. Mrs. Johnson is probably my favorite character, actually. I can't say much about her backstory, but I really loved watching her gruff outer shell peel away over time!

It does have to be said, though, that the discussions of both romance and religion are almost uniformly hard to read throughout the book. The characters are so obnoxiously slap-you-in-the-face Christian (and so obsessed with making sure everyone thinks exactly the way they do) that it got a little old for me–even though I actually am Christian! It's not like they act like God makes life one big rose-fest, because all of the main characters grapple with some pretty scary/hard things throughout the book, but something about the discussions of faith just felt cheesy and unrealistic to me. There's also a fair bit of instalove, which anyone who has read this blog for long knows is a big pet peeve of mine. Cassidy and Allan barely know each other at all when they start having feelings for each other that they'd never had for anyone else in their entire lives. Despite the fact that they only spend minimal amounts of time with each other and don't really seem to have anything in common, we're supposed to believe they're perfect for each other. Meh. I'd rather have seen Cassidy wind up with Thomas, the seventeen-year-old kitchen boy who has a crush on her–I honestly liked him better than I did Allan, and the age difference could have easily become negligible if the authors had made Cassidy just a year or two younger!

Anyway, you wouldn't guess it from all the negativity in this review but I really did spend a few happy hours reading In the Shadow of Denali. Now that I'm writing out my thoughts I'm realizing just how many little things bugged me about the book, but when I was actually reading it I was sucked in nonetheless. I love Cassidy, Mrs. Johnson, and Thomas, and I have pretty neutral (though certainly not negative) feelings toward Allan and Cassidy's father John. I liked the basic premise of the story and the conflicts that came up, and I loved getting a look at what life was like in Alaska during the 1920s. We even get to read about President and Mrs. Harding staying at the hotel on their 1923 trip to Alaska right before the president's sudden death! I'd never even heard of President Harding, let alone known that he traveled to Alaska.

Basically, I can't recommend In the Shadow of Denali as fine literature. If you're looking for some clean, fluffy (and slightly preachy) entertainment set in a rural Alaska setting, though, then this might just be the book for you. If you do give it a try, comment below to let us know how you like it!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my review.