Count Me In

by Sara Leach

Twelve-year-old Tabitha is less than thrilled when her parents send her on a hiking trip with her cousins, Ashley and Cedar, and her Aunt Tess. For one thing, she's not much of a hiker. And she's pretty sure her cousins hate her. But even Ashley can't blame Tabitha for everything that goes the weather turns ugly, a bear comes into the cabin, Ashley and Tess are injured and Max, the family's beloved dog, disappears. When rescue finally arrives, Tabitha realizes that she is no longer the timid, out-of-shape girl she used to be. She's become strong, resourceful and brave in the face of adversity—no matter what form it takes.

Genres: Adventure, Middle Grade, Fiction, Survival

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Maya :)]

5 ✨

adored this book in primary school!

[Mrs. Strudthoff]

Count Me In by Sara Leach is an exciting, page-turning outdoor adventure story. Tabitha's parents have sent her along on a hiking trip in the mountains of Washington State with her Aunt Tess and her cousins Cedar and Ashley. Tabitha's folks think that getting away from her school drama will improve her outlook on life. Tabitha isn't so sure--she's never been the outdoors type and her aunt and cousins are quite earthy as well as adept at survival techniques. In addition, her extended family is dealing with their own grief--Tabitha's uncle died when he fell into a crevasse on a hiking trip.

After one day in the mountain hut, Aunt Tess decides that the rain is going to cut the trip short. Tabitha is ecstatic! But on the trip down the mountain, they find that the rain has raised the levels of the streams and creeks so much that they won't be able go home after all. Back up the mountain they climb with diminished food supplies as well as with Ashley's broken cheek.

As they wait for a helicopter rescue, Tabitha confronts a bear, makes do with the food at hand, and proves that she is indeed as outdoorsy as her relatives when she makes a triumphant climb back to the mountain to retrieve what the family thought was gone forever.

[Seema M. Fazil]

Loved it! This book was very intriguing and suspenseful. It made me want to keep reading. Yes, I know it took me about four days to finish it as things kept getting on the way, but I really enjoyed it! This book was really great, and I would recommend it.
One complaint: The ending was a little rushed. The author didn't reveal Tabitha's parents reactions after she found Max.

[Flesha]

Tabitha isn't thrilled when her parents send her on a hiking trip with her outdoorsy cousins. The hiking isn't easy and the mosquitoes are miserable, and then the rains come and the group finds themselves in danger.

Better than average high/low reader.

[junnie]

Cousins are terrible, Tabitha is just a meh character, and the story line is...flat.

[Elleng]

Count me in is a interesting read about a hike that goes all wrong. When 12-year-old Tabitha goes on a hike with her cousins, right after her uncle has died, nothing seems to go right. The weather sucks, she thinks her girl cousin hates her, and she can't seem to do much right. But, when her uncle dog runs away, her girl cousin hates her more, and gets injured in the midst of it all. Also, her aunt gets injured, too. Tabitha and her boy cousin are stuck in a cabin on the mountain with little food, lots of rain, no dog and two injured people. Not to mention the bear. It's up to her to get them down from there and rescue their dog, but can she do it?

I especially like the part in the end where Tabitha goes back up to find her cousins dog, in hope that her cousin won't find her evil anymore, and just plain hope that the dog has survived.

My favourite character was (of course,) Tabitha. One, because I have a friend with that name, and two because, she reacted to everything a lot like I would have (aside from the brave part).

I recommend this book to girl from the ages of 9 and up.

[Cheriee Weichel]

I liked the tension that arouse from the environmental conditions. You can’t spend time in the wilderness around here without having a healthy respect for bears. When Tabitha has a run in with a bear I was right there with her. You can’t spend much time in the Pacific Northwest without having a healthy respect for the rain. The parts of the novel when the group are in danger or trapped because of the weather and ensuing high waters in lakes and rivers are frightening realistic.

I didn’t like the tension between the two girl cousins. It didn’t feel authentic to me.
I don’t much like those girls bullying girl books and unfortunately this book too often felt too much like one of them. I am sure that Leach wanted this to be about a girl who learns what she is capable of, and learns to stand up for herself. For me however it was too much about a girl being a victim.

[Monique]

Argh!! I expected so much more character growth in this!
Tabitha annoyed me at intervals, The author should have given a little more in the reason department then her dad died in concerns to that girl. There was really now growth! I mean, yes, Tabitha hiked again and actually kind of enjoyed it, and (probably one of the best parts of the book) stood up for herself, but that wasn't enough for me.

[Sue Monroe]

12 year old Tabitha goes on hike with her cousins who have recently lost their father. On the the hike in the Pacific Northwest they encounter several obstacles which challenge Tabitha's view of herself and force her to act. Nice descriptions on the good and bad of hiking and the setting. Plot is fairly simple but a good alternative/intro to survival books.

Hatchet, The Living, Shipwreck Island (Bodeen)all would be good companions.

[Olivia DiGiammarino]

This is an excellent book filled with suspense, coming of age and family tension. I would highly recommend this book to a confident 3rd grade reader or 4th grade student.

Tabithas misadventure in finding herself, while taking risks is a narrative that I greatly identified with. The setting of beautiful BC makes this book a must read for CanCon fiction readers. Would make an excellent book group read or family read along!

[Monika]

It was fun to read a book that was set close to home. Found it a bit too spectacular in terms of things going wrong.

[Christine Murdock]

It was a fun and easy read. A feel good story...of sorts. Not sure if I am up for a hike in the mountains :0)

[Jackie Knitsch]

Another book for my class.

[Peighton Jones]

This was a pretty good book. There are a lot of surprises and things you don't expect to come in this book.

[Mrs. Ehlers]

A great book. Once you start you'll want to keep reading until your done!