Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston

Pages: 243

Intended Audience: Mature teens

Genre: Real life / Sexual assault

Notes for Parents: This deals with sexual assault and should be for mature teens only

The Back Cover

Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, the cheerleaders don’t cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team. This year’s summer training camp is Hermione’s last, and she knows this season could make her a legend. But during a camp party, someone slips something into 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. As Hermione struggles to regain the control she’s always had, she faces the wrenching decision of how to move on. The assault wasn’t the beginning of Hermione Winters’s story, and she’s not going to let it be the end.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The title Exit, Pursued by a Bear is a famous line of stage direction from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.

Note: this review contains spoilers!

What’s good?

It has short chapters, is easy to read, and has a great cover. The story moves at a good pace, and the plot is straight forward. Hermione is a strong, confident high school cheerleader surrounded by a fiercely loyal best friend, trusting parents, an excellent school counselor, understanding teachers, and supportive classmates and community members. The hospital workers and police officers she deals with are highly professional. And her very funny therapist makes house calls and helps her with math homework. Hermione is one lucky girl.

Best Part: Dr. Hutt is hilarious.

What isn’t good?

You may have noted some sarcasm in my response above because everything is perfect. The few negative things are easily dealt with. The reporter is put in her place. Leo eventually changes his mind. Hermione deals with everything perfectly. But we all know there’s no such thing as perfect, so this story just doesn’t ring true. It’s dry and safe, and lacks any real emotion. Hermione worries about things, but none of those things happen. Everyone is supportive and understanding. It isn’t until her friend reveals a secret that she has a visceral reaction to anything.

Worst part: The way she identifies her attacker is ridiculous.

Recommendation ☺☺☻☻☻ (2/5)

The author presents an important story about a teen who is drugged and raped. However, it hits all the “things you might experience if you’re drugged and raped” without the character actually experiencing any of them. She thinks about them, fears them even, but manages to walk through the whole experience unscathed. Oh wait, she does experience one very important side effect of the rape, but she easily takes care of that with a quick trip to the city with her friend. Easy-peasy. Sorry but, I don’t recommend this novel. If you’re going to write about the hard stuff, you have to let your character be vulnerable to it.

Johnston, E.K. Exit, Pursued by a Bear. New York: Speak, 2016.