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Touching Grass
From the author of the Governor General’s Award shortlisted, Silver Birch Award finalist Mortified, a funny, heartfelt middle-grade novel about a young gamer who is sent to “touch grass” at a Dene First Nation culture camp
Tristen would do anything to avoid going outside. The bugs sting, the snakes are poisonous, the heat will kill you if the cold doesn’t, and bodies of water? Forget it. Tristen likes it best indoors, deep in his online world where it’s safe, with his online friends. Something he has a hard time with IRL.
But Tristen is in trouble at school again, and the principal is threatening to kick him out of this third school in two years. His mom believes the answer is to get Tristen off the games and in touch with nature and his Dene roots. This means Tristen has to spend a week to a culture camp in the wilderness. It’s his worst nightmare!
And at first it is a nightmare—no internet, no phone reception, no Bepsi!—and Tristen has no idea how to do any of the skills the other kids seem to do easily. But soon, with some surprising new friends and a few patient teachers, and a little help from technology, Tristen begins to think he might be able to hack this nature stuff after all.
Tristen would do anything to avoid going outside. The bugs sting, the snakes are poisonous, the heat will kill you if the cold doesn’t, and bodies of water? Forget it. Tristen likes it best indoors, deep in his online world where it’s safe, with his online friends. Something he has a hard time with IRL.
But Tristen is in trouble at school again, and the principal is threatening to kick him out of this third school in two years. His mom believes the answer is to get Tristen off the games and in touch with nature and his Dene roots. This means Tristen has to spend a week to a culture camp in the wilderness. It’s his worst nightmare!
And at first it is a nightmare—no internet, no phone reception, no Bepsi!—and Tristen has no idea how to do any of the skills the other kids seem to do easily. But soon, with some surprising new friends and a few patient teachers, and a little help from technology, Tristen begins to think he might be able to hack this nature stuff after all.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published September 9, 2025
4 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 24, 2025
*ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
After getting into more than his fair share of trouble, Tristen’s mom negotiates with the school to not expel him if he participates in a land based camp. Seems like a sweet deal...except he’s allergic to nature. When not allergic so much as hates it with a burning passion. He’d much rather be playing video games that he excels in than put in the woods with no cell service surrounded by the dangers of nature. Things get even worse when he arrives at camp only to realize he is the ONLY person with NO knowledge of how to camp let alone live on the land. But he can’t quit and with the help of some new friends, learns that maybe he’s not alone or useless as he thought.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Each chapter starts with a one page panel of graphics highlighting specific lines from the upcoming chapter that make it really hard to put the book down. I also loved Tristen’s development. He doesn’t have a movie montage moment where he learns he’s a prodigy and can immediately live off the grid. Instead, he has to face his fears (and potential humiliation) and open his mind to what he is capable of. It felt very realistic for a middle-grader to go through.
I also loved learning more about the Dene culture alongside Tristen and about “culture camps” like the one in this book.
After getting into more than his fair share of trouble, Tristen’s mom negotiates with the school to not expel him if he participates in a land based camp. Seems like a sweet deal...except he’s allergic to nature. When not allergic so much as hates it with a burning passion. He’d much rather be playing video games that he excels in than put in the woods with no cell service surrounded by the dangers of nature. Things get even worse when he arrives at camp only to realize he is the ONLY person with NO knowledge of how to camp let alone live on the land. But he can’t quit and with the help of some new friends, learns that maybe he’s not alone or useless as he thought.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Each chapter starts with a one page panel of graphics highlighting specific lines from the upcoming chapter that make it really hard to put the book down. I also loved Tristen’s development. He doesn’t have a movie montage moment where he learns he’s a prodigy and can immediately live off the grid. Instead, he has to face his fears (and potential humiliation) and open his mind to what he is capable of. It felt very realistic for a middle-grader to go through.
I also loved learning more about the Dene culture alongside Tristen and about “culture camps” like the one in this book.
September 21, 2025
Shelving this as juvenile fiction almost feels like a crime because this is so funny and witty, anyone who is or is around Gen Z or Alpha would get a kick out of this.
This was an awesome palette cleanser and the illustrations were really cute.
My favorite was the writing though. This was so funny in an almost ironic, self-aware kind of way.
This was an awesome palette cleanser and the illustrations were really cute.
My favorite was the writing though. This was so funny in an almost ironic, self-aware kind of way.
November 21, 2025
Tristen is an indoor kid. Outside is just too much. It's too buggy, muggy, itchy, strange, and more. Video games are so much better.
He keeps getting into trouble at school, though some of the trouble isn't his fault. He feels forced to stay silent for a bully who committed the act that Tristen is being punished for. The administration is considering expelling him, but Tristen's mom suggests an outdoor culture camp.
Tristen is horrified. No wifi? No video games? OUTDOORS?!?
But then he arrives, and he starts learning some skills. He makes friends. He discovers a new talent. But best of all, he starts finding who he truly is. Then he and a friend are stranded. It will take all that both children know to help them survive in the wilderness.
This book is one that I couldn't put down. It's a fabulous glimpse behind the "troublemaker" label that some adults slap on kids without bothering to see what's behind it.
Thank you so much to Edelweiss and the publisher for an ARC!
He keeps getting into trouble at school, though some of the trouble isn't his fault. He feels forced to stay silent for a bully who committed the act that Tristen is being punished for. The administration is considering expelling him, but Tristen's mom suggests an outdoor culture camp.
Tristen is horrified. No wifi? No video games? OUTDOORS?!?
But then he arrives, and he starts learning some skills. He makes friends. He discovers a new talent. But best of all, he starts finding who he truly is. Then he and a friend are stranded. It will take all that both children know to help them survive in the wilderness.
This book is one that I couldn't put down. It's a fabulous glimpse behind the "troublemaker" label that some adults slap on kids without bothering to see what's behind it.
Thank you so much to Edelweiss and the publisher for an ARC!
December 11, 2025
Was hyped for this book but DNF at page 46 when witchcraft was portrayed as true and helpful.
Pros:
-about a Dene family in northern SK!
-Mentions of bunnyhugs, saskatoon berries, Nintendo Switch, Minecraft
-adorable comics at the start of each chapter, kind of a novel/graphic novel hybrid
Cons:
-mentions of Terminator and the Witcher (both rated R, so the 12yo protagonist shouldn’t be talking about them)
-protagonist downplays online dangers and his mom is seen as annoyingly overprotective. He has disabled her parental controls to limit his screen time.
-DNF at page 46 when his classmate who is “a real witch” saw a vision in her crystal ball about how he is going to the wilderness camp. She says she will cast a spell to help him.
Since this is a realistic fiction and there are no other fantasy elements, the witchcraft aspect is played seriously, so this book is a no for me.
Pros:
-about a Dene family in northern SK!
-Mentions of bunnyhugs, saskatoon berries, Nintendo Switch, Minecraft
-adorable comics at the start of each chapter, kind of a novel/graphic novel hybrid
Cons:
-mentions of Terminator and the Witcher (both rated R, so the 12yo protagonist shouldn’t be talking about them)
-protagonist downplays online dangers and his mom is seen as annoyingly overprotective. He has disabled her parental controls to limit his screen time.
-DNF at page 46 when his classmate who is “a real witch” saw a vision in her crystal ball about how he is going to the wilderness camp. She says she will cast a spell to help him.
Since this is a realistic fiction and there are no other fantasy elements, the witchcraft aspect is played seriously, so this book is a no for me.
October 27, 2025
Felt a little rushed at the end, but overall a fun wilderness survival story and one that middle grade readers will really enjoy reading - there is something for everyone
November 18, 2025
such a beautiful story
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews