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Valley Girls
When 17-year-old Rilla is busted for partying 24 hours into arriving in Yosemite National Park to live with her park ranger sister, it’s a come-to-Jesus moment.
Determined to make up for her screw-up and create a stable new home for herself, Rilla charms her way into a tight-knit group of climbers. But Rilla can’t help but be seduced by experiences she couldn’t have imagined back home. She sets her sights on climbing El Capitan, one of the most challenging routes in Yosemite, and her summer becomes one harrowing and ecstatic experience after another: first climb, first fall two thousand feet in the air, first love. But becoming the person Rilla feels she was meant to be jeopardizes the reasons why she came to Yosemite—a bright new future and a second chance at sisterhood. When her family and her future are at odds, what will Rilla choose?
Determined to make up for her screw-up and create a stable new home for herself, Rilla charms her way into a tight-knit group of climbers. But Rilla can’t help but be seduced by experiences she couldn’t have imagined back home. She sets her sights on climbing El Capitan, one of the most challenging routes in Yosemite, and her summer becomes one harrowing and ecstatic experience after another: first climb, first fall two thousand feet in the air, first love. But becoming the person Rilla feels she was meant to be jeopardizes the reasons why she came to Yosemite—a bright new future and a second chance at sisterhood. When her family and her future are at odds, what will Rilla choose?
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 8, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
April 13, 2018
1.5 Stars
DNF @ 49%
I’m doing it. I’m DNFing my first book of 2018. Honestly, Valley Girls wasn’t egregious or offensive or really even that bad, but I was so utterly bored and indifferent I couldn’t continue. My biggest problem was likely my complete annoyance at main character, Rilla, who was forced to leave her home in West Virginia after some relationship problems and live with her park ranger sister in Yosemite valley.
Like I said above, I didn’t really like Rilla at all. I’m honestly not entirely clear on why she’s in Yosemite to begin with, but we do not mesh. She is very needy and insecure. Obviously, the climbing journey is going to showcase her growth, but I felt like she didn’t get into it for herself she just wanted to impress/belong with the older “cooler” people she just met. I also found a few scenes in the beginning to be a little confusing. There were a lot of new characters to keep track of in a wild environment and I did get lost a time or two.
But I did really all the climbing stuff!!!! There’s a great group of people and lots of comrodiere, but I just didn’t get enough from the story overall the make me want to continue.
I received a copy of the book from Amulet Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
DNF @ 49%
I’m doing it. I’m DNFing my first book of 2018. Honestly, Valley Girls wasn’t egregious or offensive or really even that bad, but I was so utterly bored and indifferent I couldn’t continue. My biggest problem was likely my complete annoyance at main character, Rilla, who was forced to leave her home in West Virginia after some relationship problems and live with her park ranger sister in Yosemite valley.
Like I said above, I didn’t really like Rilla at all. I’m honestly not entirely clear on why she’s in Yosemite to begin with, but we do not mesh. She is very needy and insecure. Obviously, the climbing journey is going to showcase her growth, but I felt like she didn’t get into it for herself she just wanted to impress/belong with the older “cooler” people she just met. I also found a few scenes in the beginning to be a little confusing. There were a lot of new characters to keep track of in a wild environment and I did get lost a time or two.
But I did really all the climbing stuff!!!! There’s a great group of people and lots of comrodiere, but I just didn’t get enough from the story overall the make me want to continue.
I received a copy of the book from Amulet Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 13, 2019
Sarah Nicole Lemon is my favorite author. She has been my favorite author ever since I read Done Dirt Cheap. That hasn't changed after completing Valley Girls. I would literally read and five star her grocery lists.
This book is about climbing. It's not going to be for everyone and, admittedly, from a different writer, I doubt this book would have been for me. There's a lot of verbiage associated with climbing that's still a mystery to me, but hey, at least there's a glossary in the back.
But this is also a book that's not about climbing. It's about a girl who wants to matter and wants to carve out her own path in the world. It's about a girl that has a lot of demons. I don't know how to talk about books that I love very well. All I can say is that I found myself in Rilla, I could understand and feel her anger. I tend to do that with Sarah's characters.
What do you say about books your favorite author writes? I dunno. Her writing is beautiful, but it also feels as though Sarah has always known me. Her writing is what home feels like to me.
This is one of the most visceral books that I've ever read. It made me weep. I haven't been this moved by a book in a long time.
One day I'll write an actual review, but for now just know that this book, as with all of Sarah's books, are something so intricate and special that I can't even appropriately explain what they mean to me.
This book is about climbing. It's not going to be for everyone and, admittedly, from a different writer, I doubt this book would have been for me. There's a lot of verbiage associated with climbing that's still a mystery to me, but hey, at least there's a glossary in the back.
But this is also a book that's not about climbing. It's about a girl who wants to matter and wants to carve out her own path in the world. It's about a girl that has a lot of demons. I don't know how to talk about books that I love very well. All I can say is that I found myself in Rilla, I could understand and feel her anger. I tend to do that with Sarah's characters.
What do you say about books your favorite author writes? I dunno. Her writing is beautiful, but it also feels as though Sarah has always known me. Her writing is what home feels like to me.
This is one of the most visceral books that I've ever read. It made me weep. I haven't been this moved by a book in a long time.
One day I'll write an actual review, but for now just know that this book, as with all of Sarah's books, are something so intricate and special that I can't even appropriately explain what they mean to me.
April 29, 2018
They looked like they had always been and would always be in Yosemite
* *
2 / 5
I really, really wanted to love Valley Girls - it promised rock climbing adventures featuring a stubborn, ill-advised teen set against the stunning background of Yosemite. Valley Girls delivered in the sense that the rock climbing aspects were detailed and immersive and the scenery sounded breathtaking and filled me with wanderlust. It failed in that the main character, Rilla Skidmore, is exceedingly annoying with barely any redeeming and endearing qualities.
All around her, the air seemed cavernous and wide. You're alone. All alone, it breathed.
Rilla's mother sends her packing from West Virginia to live with her older sister Thea, a park ranger in Yosemite after some incident involving a boyfriend and a punch up in a car park that is never explained. Understandably, Rilla isn't that pleased about leaving her immediate family, friends, and home to go and live on a national park with the sister that left her a few years ago. I liked Thea: a young gay woman who struggled with her mother and seemed to have found some peace in Yosemite with her girlfriend, right up until she offers to take on her trouble younger sister who has no motivation to do anything but worry about Instagram and smoke weed.
Then there's Rilla. She's probably the most inconsistent character I've read about in a good few months. Essentially, there's three Rilla's:
Rilla Number One: Skives off school, makes friends with the local weed dealer, calls her ex-boyfriend six times a day, scrolls through Instagram all day thinking about how much better everyone else's life is, is rude to her sister, steals, and is exceedingly petty
Rilla Number Two: Decides that being a rock climber is literally the most glamorous thing ever and posting sexy pics of her climbing is sure to get her old friends running back to her, but simultaneously thinks that all the climber girls she has met hate her for virtually no reason and that, despite people telling her she's decent for a newbie, thinks she's a total failure
Rilla Number Three: Ambitious, motivated, works hard at odd jobs to get money for quality climbing gear so that she can tackle tougher climbs and be a good team member, offers to cook group meals and is generally quite a nice girl who you might actually be friends with
Now you would think that there is quite a clear progression her, a satisfying character arc from Rilla One to Two to Three. There's not. One page you are cheering Rilla on as she tackles an impressive route, envying her life a little as she eats sandwiches on top of a mountain range in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and the next she's throwing a literal tantrum, stealing, driving recklessly, and locking herself in her room. It's bizarre. If Rilla was someone I knew, I'd be seriously concerned between the delusions of grandeur and the acts of self-destruction.
Mountains do not care who you are, they will kill you all the same
Valley Girls does have a cool secondary cast between Thea and the rest of the climber girls, and I loved the climbing scenes - I would have particularly enjoyed it if the book had allocated more time to Rilla's climbing of El Capitan which gets shoehorned in at the end. Overall, Valley Girls drew me in with the premise of climbing but was let down by the unlikeable main character.
My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of Valley Girls
Read this review and more on my blog: https://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.co...
* *
2 / 5
I really, really wanted to love Valley Girls - it promised rock climbing adventures featuring a stubborn, ill-advised teen set against the stunning background of Yosemite. Valley Girls delivered in the sense that the rock climbing aspects were detailed and immersive and the scenery sounded breathtaking and filled me with wanderlust. It failed in that the main character, Rilla Skidmore, is exceedingly annoying with barely any redeeming and endearing qualities.
All around her, the air seemed cavernous and wide. You're alone. All alone, it breathed.
Rilla's mother sends her packing from West Virginia to live with her older sister Thea, a park ranger in Yosemite after some incident involving a boyfriend and a punch up in a car park that is never explained. Understandably, Rilla isn't that pleased about leaving her immediate family, friends, and home to go and live on a national park with the sister that left her a few years ago. I liked Thea: a young gay woman who struggled with her mother and seemed to have found some peace in Yosemite with her girlfriend, right up until she offers to take on her trouble younger sister who has no motivation to do anything but worry about Instagram and smoke weed.
Then there's Rilla. She's probably the most inconsistent character I've read about in a good few months. Essentially, there's three Rilla's:
Rilla Number One: Skives off school, makes friends with the local weed dealer, calls her ex-boyfriend six times a day, scrolls through Instagram all day thinking about how much better everyone else's life is, is rude to her sister, steals, and is exceedingly petty
Rilla Number Two: Decides that being a rock climber is literally the most glamorous thing ever and posting sexy pics of her climbing is sure to get her old friends running back to her, but simultaneously thinks that all the climber girls she has met hate her for virtually no reason and that, despite people telling her she's decent for a newbie, thinks she's a total failure
Rilla Number Three: Ambitious, motivated, works hard at odd jobs to get money for quality climbing gear so that she can tackle tougher climbs and be a good team member, offers to cook group meals and is generally quite a nice girl who you might actually be friends with
Now you would think that there is quite a clear progression her, a satisfying character arc from Rilla One to Two to Three. There's not. One page you are cheering Rilla on as she tackles an impressive route, envying her life a little as she eats sandwiches on top of a mountain range in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and the next she's throwing a literal tantrum, stealing, driving recklessly, and locking herself in her room. It's bizarre. If Rilla was someone I knew, I'd be seriously concerned between the delusions of grandeur and the acts of self-destruction.
Mountains do not care who you are, they will kill you all the same
Valley Girls does have a cool secondary cast between Thea and the rest of the climber girls, and I loved the climbing scenes - I would have particularly enjoyed it if the book had allocated more time to Rilla's climbing of El Capitan which gets shoehorned in at the end. Overall, Valley Girls drew me in with the premise of climbing but was let down by the unlikeable main character.
My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of Valley Girls
Read this review and more on my blog: https://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.co...
July 21, 2020
This was a struggle... I wanted and hoped for more.
Read
April 5, 2018The character development and pacing were weak -- I never got to know Rilla or any of the other characters, and since Rilla's experiences in West Virginia were why she was in Yosemite with her half sister, I needed more -- but the setting in Yosemite and the climbing were excellent. Those made up for the weaknesses for me, as I loved experiencing those climbs as a reader.
July 4, 2018
I received this book from Abrams&Chronicle in exchange for an honest review.
When Rilla travels to Yosemite National park to live with her sister, she's determined to better - especially when she's busted for partying less than 24 hours after her arrival. Rilla soon falls into a climber crowd, and they begin to teach her the joys and hardships of climbing in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
This was an enjoyable read with some great descriptions and scenery. i officially want to travel to Yosemite and see it in person after reading this book, and I won't lie, I'm very tempted to take up rock climbing as well.
Rilla was a great character and I loved that she seemed really tough at times, and cool, but also very vulnerable and unsure at the same time. She came across as a badass at first but then immediately we saw her worrying that she was uncool around the climber crowd, and I loved that. Rilla definitely showed a lo of growth in this book, and I loved reading her as she discovered her passion for climbing and did things she never thought she'd be able to. I was definitely confused by her sister's objection to her climbing and did have to wonder what she thought Rilla was going to do the whole time she was in Yosemite - she can't do schoolwork all the time...and she's Yosemite for god's sake.
The relationship happened, not too fast, but the crush happened really fast for my liking - like literally on the second page. I liked the sex scene in this book - it was positive, and fun as well as sensual and I liked it as an example of having sex but not actually having sex at the same time.
There was a bit too much heavy description in this of climbing for me - like all the different equipment words and conversations just about climbing that meant I got a bit bored at times because I'm not a climber. There is a glossary for the climbing terms and words used at the end but by then I didn't car, I was finished the book.
When Rilla travels to Yosemite National park to live with her sister, she's determined to better - especially when she's busted for partying less than 24 hours after her arrival. Rilla soon falls into a climber crowd, and they begin to teach her the joys and hardships of climbing in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
This was an enjoyable read with some great descriptions and scenery. i officially want to travel to Yosemite and see it in person after reading this book, and I won't lie, I'm very tempted to take up rock climbing as well.
Rilla was a great character and I loved that she seemed really tough at times, and cool, but also very vulnerable and unsure at the same time. She came across as a badass at first but then immediately we saw her worrying that she was uncool around the climber crowd, and I loved that. Rilla definitely showed a lo of growth in this book, and I loved reading her as she discovered her passion for climbing and did things she never thought she'd be able to. I was definitely confused by her sister's objection to her climbing and did have to wonder what she thought Rilla was going to do the whole time she was in Yosemite - she can't do schoolwork all the time...and she's Yosemite for god's sake.
The relationship happened, not too fast, but the crush happened really fast for my liking - like literally on the second page. I liked the sex scene in this book - it was positive, and fun as well as sensual and I liked it as an example of having sex but not actually having sex at the same time.
There was a bit too much heavy description in this of climbing for me - like all the different equipment words and conversations just about climbing that meant I got a bit bored at times because I'm not a climber. There is a glossary for the climbing terms and words used at the end but by then I didn't car, I was finished the book.
Want to read
October 25, 2017Okay, I'm terrified of rock climbing, but I did spend 5 summers living in Yosemite and it's pretty much my second home for the majority for almost half of my life.
April 25, 2018
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*Many thanks to Amulet Books and NetGalley for providing an ARC for review!*
I loved loved loved Sarah Nicole Lemon's debut Done Dirt Cheap, which I picked up on a whim, knowing not much about but loving the girl power vibe of the cover and unorthodox name. I loved her ability to write resilient, strong female characters and went into her sophomore novel, Valley Girls, with similar expectations. What I encountered was a story that was much, much different than her debut, and that unfortunately failed to compel me the way Done Dirt Cheap did. While Valley Girls has a stunning setting and is no doubt a book that was dearly and thoroughly researched, it unfortunately missed the mark for me.
Valley Girls focuses on Rilla, who's been sent to live with her sister, a summer park ranger of sorts, in Yosemite Valley. She's left behind a troubled and tainted past in West Virginia and this summer in Yosemite is a bit of a last chance situation for her. Rilla unfortunately was the main issue for me in this book. As the protagonist, readers spend all of their time in her head, and she's quite frankly irritating and self absorbed and honestly doesn't start showing much growth until the very end of the book. She constantly and consistently makes poor decisions and holds herself back with them, and is insecure beyond belief. Now I know insecurities are a huge part of the teenage experience, but she would lament over the tiniest of mistakes she'd made in social situations for pages upon pages, which was such a change from Lemon's previous protagonists. While the novel is obviously focused on the tale of her growth, I wish I could have seen more progress than I did.
While an unlikable protagonist doesn't completely make or break a novel (sometimes the best novels can have the worst protagonists), I failed to connect with Rilla at all, as I feel I never really got a clear vision of her backstory. There's a lot of really heavy, formative experiences and issues that are hinted at (parents who are polyamorous and in and out of jail, excessive partying, domestic abuse, etc.) which are huge themes but only ever get mentioned in passing. I really wish I had a chance to get to know exactly WHAT happened to get Rilla sent to Yosemite, as then I feel like I could have connected more with her on her journey (I know this is obviously a tale of the protagonist leaving her past behind but I felt let down by the mention of these huge issues that were never addressed fully).
The other element that had me struggling through the book was the rock climbing. Now, this is completely just my personal taste, but I am not an athletic minded person at all, so as soon as a book starts getting too technical for me I tend to get bored. I found this book was super technical and descriptive about the rock climbing process (which is a great thing if you're interested in it! It's evident a lot of care and research went into writing those scenes and I definitely know way more about rock climbing than I ever thought I would- including some of the wild stuff like how climbers literally sleep suspended in midair off of a mountain on a port-a-ledge). However, I did find myself eventually skimming many of the climbing portions.
While many of the main focuses of the book didn't work for me, there were a lot of secondary elements that I liked that I wish had been featured more. I really liked Rilla's sister Thea who had completely turned her life around from her West Virginia upbringing. There were a ton of female rock climber characters who all had their strengths and flaws but who were all incredibly independent, from Caroline, a sponsored, Instagram famous climber to Adeena, a climber from Pakistan who scaled Everest when she was even younger than Rilla, and who used climbing as a way to help finance her education. I wish I had gotten to know these women's backstories even better as well, and I wish their presence had been more motivating to Rilla rather than discouraging.
Overall: Valley Girls is an book that's obviously written with incredible research and care regarding rock climbing, and has a very vivid portrayal of life in Yosemite Valley. However, Rilla's behavior and lack of growth coupled with my disinterest in the technical rock climbing scenes made this one a miss for me.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
I loved loved loved Sarah Nicole Lemon's debut Done Dirt Cheap, which I picked up on a whim, knowing not much about but loving the girl power vibe of the cover and unorthodox name. I loved her ability to write resilient, strong female characters and went into her sophomore novel, Valley Girls, with similar expectations. What I encountered was a story that was much, much different than her debut, and that unfortunately failed to compel me the way Done Dirt Cheap did. While Valley Girls has a stunning setting and is no doubt a book that was dearly and thoroughly researched, it unfortunately missed the mark for me.
Valley Girls focuses on Rilla, who's been sent to live with her sister, a summer park ranger of sorts, in Yosemite Valley. She's left behind a troubled and tainted past in West Virginia and this summer in Yosemite is a bit of a last chance situation for her. Rilla unfortunately was the main issue for me in this book. As the protagonist, readers spend all of their time in her head, and she's quite frankly irritating and self absorbed and honestly doesn't start showing much growth until the very end of the book. She constantly and consistently makes poor decisions and holds herself back with them, and is insecure beyond belief. Now I know insecurities are a huge part of the teenage experience, but she would lament over the tiniest of mistakes she'd made in social situations for pages upon pages, which was such a change from Lemon's previous protagonists. While the novel is obviously focused on the tale of her growth, I wish I could have seen more progress than I did.
While an unlikable protagonist doesn't completely make or break a novel (sometimes the best novels can have the worst protagonists), I failed to connect with Rilla at all, as I feel I never really got a clear vision of her backstory. There's a lot of really heavy, formative experiences and issues that are hinted at (parents who are polyamorous and in and out of jail, excessive partying, domestic abuse, etc.) which are huge themes but only ever get mentioned in passing. I really wish I had a chance to get to know exactly WHAT happened to get Rilla sent to Yosemite, as then I feel like I could have connected more with her on her journey (I know this is obviously a tale of the protagonist leaving her past behind but I felt let down by the mention of these huge issues that were never addressed fully).
The other element that had me struggling through the book was the rock climbing. Now, this is completely just my personal taste, but I am not an athletic minded person at all, so as soon as a book starts getting too technical for me I tend to get bored. I found this book was super technical and descriptive about the rock climbing process (which is a great thing if you're interested in it! It's evident a lot of care and research went into writing those scenes and I definitely know way more about rock climbing than I ever thought I would- including some of the wild stuff like how climbers literally sleep suspended in midair off of a mountain on a port-a-ledge). However, I did find myself eventually skimming many of the climbing portions.
While many of the main focuses of the book didn't work for me, there were a lot of secondary elements that I liked that I wish had been featured more. I really liked Rilla's sister Thea who had completely turned her life around from her West Virginia upbringing. There were a ton of female rock climber characters who all had their strengths and flaws but who were all incredibly independent, from Caroline, a sponsored, Instagram famous climber to Adeena, a climber from Pakistan who scaled Everest when she was even younger than Rilla, and who used climbing as a way to help finance her education. I wish I had gotten to know these women's backstories even better as well, and I wish their presence had been more motivating to Rilla rather than discouraging.
Overall: Valley Girls is an book that's obviously written with incredible research and care regarding rock climbing, and has a very vivid portrayal of life in Yosemite Valley. However, Rilla's behavior and lack of growth coupled with my disinterest in the technical rock climbing scenes made this one a miss for me.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
Read
May 4, 2018Disclaimer I received this free from the publisher via NetGalley.
DNF @ 30%
I'm really not feeling this one at all which is a huge shame because I absolutely adored Done Dirt Cheap. I, for one, really disliked the main character Rilla. I'm usually all for unlikeable female characters but she really grated on my nerves. Also, there's only so many times I can read that she's called her ex-boyfriend 6 times a day and constantly messages him. Perhaps it's because I can't imagine because that obsessed with a man - especially enough to harass like that and not really see anything wrong with it yikes. Also, while I was intrigued with the rock climbing aspect of this because it seems pretty original but my god was it boring. If this book was about Thea, Rilla's half-sister who is a Ranger and in a relationship with a woman, then I probably would have read more but I didn't like Rilla so it's a no from me.
DNF @ 30%
I'm really not feeling this one at all which is a huge shame because I absolutely adored Done Dirt Cheap. I, for one, really disliked the main character Rilla. I'm usually all for unlikeable female characters but she really grated on my nerves. Also, there's only so many times I can read that she's called her ex-boyfriend 6 times a day and constantly messages him. Perhaps it's because I can't imagine because that obsessed with a man - especially enough to harass like that and not really see anything wrong with it yikes. Also, while I was intrigued with the rock climbing aspect of this because it seems pretty original but my god was it boring. If this book was about Thea, Rilla's half-sister who is a Ranger and in a relationship with a woman, then I probably would have read more but I didn't like Rilla so it's a no from me.
January 15, 2019
Galley provided by publisher
Rep: wlw side character, non-white side characters
Actual rating 3.5
On the basis of Done Dirt Cheap, I kind of expected more of this book. That's not to say it wasn't good, or that my current fantasy/historical kick isn't behind why I didn't enjoy it as much, but it definitely contributed.
Valley Girls tells the story of Rilla Skidmore, who's sent by her mother to live with her half-sister Thea in Yosemite, after a big fight with her boyfriend. There, she falls in with a group of climbers, including Walker, the apparently gorgeous (seriously, every time Walker's name gets mentioned, you get a sentence, minimum, about how gorgeous he is) Search and Rescue worker. Most of the story revolves around the fact that Rilla wants to reinvent herself to all these new people she's met, and plans on doing so through climbing, specifically through climbing El Capitan, a 3000ft vertical rock formation.
One of my favourite things about Sarah Nicole Lemon's debut was the friendship between the two girls. While this book did have some great girl friendships, it never quite reached the level that Done Dirt Cheap did. And while the sibling conflict occasionally verged on coming to a head and being fully resolved, it never entirely managed it. Instead, it felt somewhat sidelined compared to the romance particularly, and was one of two plotpoints that seemed like it was left hanging. Similarly, there was conflict between Thea and another Ranger in competition for the same job that appeared to also go unresolved.
In contrast, Sarah Nicole Lemon's romances are one of my least favourite things about her books. They're well-written and for the most part well-developed, but they're always between an 18 or so aged girl (17 to start off with in this book) and a 20 something year old boy (20 in this book, so I'll grant you it's better than the 18 and 28 I dealt with in her other book). I mean, what's authors' problems with romances between people of the same age, especially when one of them isn't even legally an adult yet? It just makes me uncomfortable, no matter how much I like how the characters are individually written, and however well the romance is written, because the fact still remains the relationship is imbalanced. At least in this book .
I think most of what made me not like this so much was the fact that all I want to read right now is fantasy or historical books, so I almost had to force myself through this one. It was one of those where once I got into it it was fine, but finding the motivation to pick it up and get into it was another matter.
Rep: wlw side character, non-white side characters
Actual rating 3.5
On the basis of Done Dirt Cheap, I kind of expected more of this book. That's not to say it wasn't good, or that my current fantasy/historical kick isn't behind why I didn't enjoy it as much, but it definitely contributed.
Valley Girls tells the story of Rilla Skidmore, who's sent by her mother to live with her half-sister Thea in Yosemite, after a big fight with her boyfriend. There, she falls in with a group of climbers, including Walker, the apparently gorgeous (seriously, every time Walker's name gets mentioned, you get a sentence, minimum, about how gorgeous he is) Search and Rescue worker. Most of the story revolves around the fact that Rilla wants to reinvent herself to all these new people she's met, and plans on doing so through climbing, specifically through climbing El Capitan, a 3000ft vertical rock formation.
One of my favourite things about Sarah Nicole Lemon's debut was the friendship between the two girls. While this book did have some great girl friendships, it never quite reached the level that Done Dirt Cheap did. And while the sibling conflict occasionally verged on coming to a head and being fully resolved, it never entirely managed it. Instead, it felt somewhat sidelined compared to the romance particularly, and was one of two plotpoints that seemed like it was left hanging. Similarly, there was conflict between Thea and another Ranger in competition for the same job that appeared to also go unresolved.
In contrast, Sarah Nicole Lemon's romances are one of my least favourite things about her books. They're well-written and for the most part well-developed, but they're always between an 18 or so aged girl (17 to start off with in this book) and a 20 something year old boy (20 in this book, so I'll grant you it's better than the 18 and 28 I dealt with in her other book). I mean, what's authors' problems with romances between people of the same age, especially when one of them isn't even legally an adult yet? It just makes me uncomfortable, no matter how much I like how the characters are individually written, and however well the romance is written, because the fact still remains the relationship is imbalanced. At least in this book .
I think most of what made me not like this so much was the fact that all I want to read right now is fantasy or historical books, so I almost had to force myself through this one. It was one of those where once I got into it it was fine, but finding the motivation to pick it up and get into it was another matter.
November 29, 2017
1. Incredibly relatable MC. It's been a long time since I've identified so completely with a protagonist. Rilla's self-doubt and longing to be liked feel so raw and genuine; she made me remember, uncomfortably, what it was like to be a teenager. Also, her arc is A+.
2. All the wanderlust. I can't recall the last book I read that had me so desperately wanting to travel. Sarah Nicole Lemon paints Yosemite in the most breathtaking light, and she made me -- a person who's terrified of heights -- want to climb.
3. Fully formed supporting characters. Rilla's sister, Thea, as well as her love interest, Walker, and the gang she meets on Yosemite cliffs feel so real. Sure, they're climbing superstars, but they've got riveting backstories and plenty of flaws, too.
2. All the wanderlust. I can't recall the last book I read that had me so desperately wanting to travel. Sarah Nicole Lemon paints Yosemite in the most breathtaking light, and she made me -- a person who's terrified of heights -- want to climb.
3. Fully formed supporting characters. Rilla's sister, Thea, as well as her love interest, Walker, and the gang she meets on Yosemite cliffs feel so real. Sure, they're climbing superstars, but they've got riveting backstories and plenty of flaws, too.
dnf
November 23, 2019Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Amulet Books for this free copy.
This is such a long time coming, and I’m trying to clean up all my ARCs that I have before the end of the year, so we will see how I do. I’m glad that I was able to get a physical copy of this book though by the time it already came out so that I could read it without looking at my screen. The monotone voice of the Text to Speech kind of makes me tune it out so I haven’t been doing that as much, but it still helps in a pinch.
(-) Pacing and dialogue seem rushed
(-) Still not really sure what this is about besides climbing in Yosemite National Park
(-)Unfortunately this is my first DNF of the year, and I couldn’t push through after the first 200 pages.
Rilla feels abandoned by her older sister Thea because she left West Virginia without her years ago. I don’t really know what the reasoning was behind it, and by the time I stopped reading, I didn’t really know much. But I was also really disappointed with Rilla and how she kept trying to justify why it was okay to our her sister in front of Lauren (even though Lauren is Thea’s girlfriend) and how there wasn’t a problem with it. Lauren did an amazing job straightening up Rilla and calling her out on that behavior, but Rilla didn’t even apologize for it. Not to Thea or to Lauren. It was just very disturbing.
For the first 100 pages (where I’m at while I type this exact sentence), I haven’t felt much of anything for any of the characters. If anything, I felt confused because each chapter didn’t seem like everything a part of it really should have been together. By the time I got to the first 200 pages, I felt the same way really.
Some of the dialogue felt like there were parts missing, like there should have been more of a discussion in between the beginning and the end, and whenever some of the characters looked confused or just stopped talking, even I was confused. I couldn’t always follow along with Rilla’s thought process, which made it even more confusing for me to see where she was coming from in her head.
I unfortunately didn’t connect with the story enough to want to finish it. Rilla kept putting herself down so much that it was making even me feel hopeless about her, and I usually don’t let characters get to me like that. I don’t know. I felt like she really punished herself too harshly over the things that weren’t the important things, and then that justified why she could behave as the bad sister. It didn’t make sense to me, why she would self-sabotage herself so much. I know that it’s not my place to understand someone’s thought process, or make judgment on it. Unfortunately, it prevented me from finishing the book, and I wasn’t finding many positive things to say about it.
This is such a long time coming, and I’m trying to clean up all my ARCs that I have before the end of the year, so we will see how I do. I’m glad that I was able to get a physical copy of this book though by the time it already came out so that I could read it without looking at my screen. The monotone voice of the Text to Speech kind of makes me tune it out so I haven’t been doing that as much, but it still helps in a pinch.
(-) Pacing and dialogue seem rushed
(-) Still not really sure what this is about besides climbing in Yosemite National Park
(-)Unfortunately this is my first DNF of the year, and I couldn’t push through after the first 200 pages.
Rilla feels abandoned by her older sister Thea because she left West Virginia without her years ago. I don’t really know what the reasoning was behind it, and by the time I stopped reading, I didn’t really know much. But I was also really disappointed with Rilla and how she kept trying to justify why it was okay to our her sister in front of Lauren (even though Lauren is Thea’s girlfriend) and how there wasn’t a problem with it. Lauren did an amazing job straightening up Rilla and calling her out on that behavior, but Rilla didn’t even apologize for it. Not to Thea or to Lauren. It was just very disturbing.
For the first 100 pages (where I’m at while I type this exact sentence), I haven’t felt much of anything for any of the characters. If anything, I felt confused because each chapter didn’t seem like everything a part of it really should have been together. By the time I got to the first 200 pages, I felt the same way really.
Some of the dialogue felt like there were parts missing, like there should have been more of a discussion in between the beginning and the end, and whenever some of the characters looked confused or just stopped talking, even I was confused. I couldn’t always follow along with Rilla’s thought process, which made it even more confusing for me to see where she was coming from in her head.
I unfortunately didn’t connect with the story enough to want to finish it. Rilla kept putting herself down so much that it was making even me feel hopeless about her, and I usually don’t let characters get to me like that. I don’t know. I felt like she really punished herself too harshly over the things that weren’t the important things, and then that justified why she could behave as the bad sister. It didn’t make sense to me, why she would self-sabotage herself so much. I know that it’s not my place to understand someone’s thought process, or make judgment on it. Unfortunately, it prevented me from finishing the book, and I wasn’t finding many positive things to say about it.
January 18, 2018
Rilla is shipped from West Virginia to Yosemite National Park to live with her half-sister Thea because she is the problem maker and partier back in her hometown. Before arriving at the Park, Thea vows to change her awful habits of partying and smoking drugs, claiming that she will enact revenge by turning into a different person than the one that everyone knows her to be. She forgets her vow upon descending into the park and befriends a fellow stoner and proceeds to get drunk and stoned and winds up in park ranger jail.
Once again, this third person narrative was tedious to devour. Rilla was 17/18 and acted like a toddler with tantrums and crying for no reason. I’m positive she was bipolar since she had up and down moments over the course of minutes. She also lived in a false reality where she was obsessed with changing her image so others would approve of the new super cool Rilla that was rock climbing around Yosemite National Park. She developed grand ideas of how to reinvent herself to make others approve of her and make everyone back in her hometown jealous of her new lifestyle. The thing is, she never proceeded to become a fraction of this idolized image. She kept getting into trouble and making bad decisions over and over again when people didn’t conform to her standards.
When she wasn’t swept away in her imaginary world, she was fighting with her sister, falling in instant love with Walker the moment they meet, acting like a toddler when things don’t go her way, always sneaking off to get drunk and stoned when Thea kept warning her that Rilla’s irrational behavior could cost Thea her job, going rock climbing with a group of college students/friends, and having bipolar episodes.
Rilla always claimed she would do something (for example: stop smoking and focus on her summer school work), but by the next paragraph it was long forgotten, and she was off doing things she vowed never to do again. It was tiresome to deal with this indecisive narrator and her bad decisions. She judged everybody she meant and always thought she was in the right when she followed through with her bad decisions. Her and Walker somehow fall in love even though they had little interaction and hated each other at the beginning. The ending was abrupt and left multiple questions without answers. Rilla never grew as a character. She was still a bratty adult by the end who only focused on herself.
Plus, “lightning” was spelled incorrectly multiple times as “lightening”.
I received an ARC of Valley Girls from NetGalley.
Once again, this third person narrative was tedious to devour. Rilla was 17/18 and acted like a toddler with tantrums and crying for no reason. I’m positive she was bipolar since she had up and down moments over the course of minutes. She also lived in a false reality where she was obsessed with changing her image so others would approve of the new super cool Rilla that was rock climbing around Yosemite National Park. She developed grand ideas of how to reinvent herself to make others approve of her and make everyone back in her hometown jealous of her new lifestyle. The thing is, she never proceeded to become a fraction of this idolized image. She kept getting into trouble and making bad decisions over and over again when people didn’t conform to her standards.
When she wasn’t swept away in her imaginary world, she was fighting with her sister, falling in instant love with Walker the moment they meet, acting like a toddler when things don’t go her way, always sneaking off to get drunk and stoned when Thea kept warning her that Rilla’s irrational behavior could cost Thea her job, going rock climbing with a group of college students/friends, and having bipolar episodes.
Rilla always claimed she would do something (for example: stop smoking and focus on her summer school work), but by the next paragraph it was long forgotten, and she was off doing things she vowed never to do again. It was tiresome to deal with this indecisive narrator and her bad decisions. She judged everybody she meant and always thought she was in the right when she followed through with her bad decisions. Her and Walker somehow fall in love even though they had little interaction and hated each other at the beginning. The ending was abrupt and left multiple questions without answers. Rilla never grew as a character. She was still a bratty adult by the end who only focused on herself.
Plus, “lightning” was spelled incorrectly multiple times as “lightening”.
I received an ARC of Valley Girls from NetGalley.
April 24, 2018
I was initially very excited about this book. However, I quickly became tired of the writing style and also the main character. I was tempted to discontinue reading, but the book actually picked up around the halfway point so I'm glad I finished it. I would maybe give 1 star to the first half of the book and 3 stars to the second half. Thus, my 2-star rating.
The main problem with this book, in my opinion, is that it's overwritten. What I mean by this is that, especially in the first half, everything tries to be a grand sentence or beautiful metaphor. But these metaphors often fall flat and simply give the reader the impression that the book is trying too hard to be something it's not.
The second problem with the book is the main character. She is incredibly frustrating and for most of the book we don't really know why she's being so mean and pushing everyone away. She goes back and forth with her decisions constantly and honestly she is just incredibly annoying.
Thirdly, we eventually learn of a major incident that occurred to this MC. The entire reason she's in the Valley in the first place. And even though it's kind of addressed, it's not really addressed. The issue is addressed in half sentences "Oh, Rilla, no." Or even in non-sentences "Oh." The MC begins to address (in her mind) some of what happened, but it doesn't really seem like she ever gets to truly talk about it with a supportive person (like her sister, perhaps).
Speaking of her sister. This entire relationship frustrates me. There's so many things they start to talk about, but then don't actually have a conversation because one of them (usually Rilla's sister) walks out in a huff. Even at the end of the book we know SOMETHING must have been discussed, but only because we see Rilla doing something we read about earlier. The reader never gets to see what transpired between Rilla and her sister and how (or if) they sorted their problems out. Also, the girls' family is discussed, but only in a "well, that's them and there they are" kind of way. There is so much more that could have been done with this.
The main problem with this book, in my opinion, is that it's overwritten. What I mean by this is that, especially in the first half, everything tries to be a grand sentence or beautiful metaphor. But these metaphors often fall flat and simply give the reader the impression that the book is trying too hard to be something it's not.
The second problem with the book is the main character. She is incredibly frustrating and for most of the book we don't really know why she's being so mean and pushing everyone away. She goes back and forth with her decisions constantly and honestly she is just incredibly annoying.
Thirdly, we eventually learn of a major incident that occurred to this MC. The entire reason she's in the Valley in the first place. And even though it's kind of addressed, it's not really addressed. The issue is addressed in half sentences "Oh, Rilla, no." Or even in non-sentences "Oh." The MC begins to address (in her mind) some of what happened, but it doesn't really seem like she ever gets to truly talk about it with a supportive person (like her sister, perhaps).
Speaking of her sister. This entire relationship frustrates me. There's so many things they start to talk about, but then don't actually have a conversation because one of them (usually Rilla's sister) walks out in a huff. Even at the end of the book we know SOMETHING must have been discussed, but only because we see Rilla doing something we read about earlier. The reader never gets to see what transpired between Rilla and her sister and how (or if) they sorted their problems out. Also, the girls' family is discussed, but only in a "well, that's them and there they are" kind of way. There is so much more that could have been done with this.
July 26, 2018
So this is one of my new favorite books. It was just so well written and important. I originally picked it up because it takes place in Yosemite which is about two hours from where I live. In fact, my hometown, Merced, is mentioned and gone to by the main character twice. I have never read a book that even got close to my town. I recognized everywhere talked about and had pretty much been to all of the places too and it was so awesome. I don’t know anything about climbing but I loved learning about it in this book (and there’s a lot to learn) and the story honestly made me want to get more active (not climbing necessarily, but in general). The diversity in this book is spectacular and plentiful with characters of almost every race and ethnicity, a lesbian, and polyamory (which I’ve never seen in a book). The talks in the book about racism and sexism and homophobia were amazing as a result. We even have a discussion on abusive relationships and a victim who comes to realize it was abuse and have to deal with it. The relationships felt real. Nothing was perfect but that’s what gave it the realness. There were moments where I disliked every character but then you realize what they did was human and they learn and grow from it and that was beautiful to see for once. It was just young people being young people but still achieving great things and you get to see their doubt too and it was so relatable. I mean I could go on and on, but please read this book if you get the chance. The only thing I can say negatively about it is that the pacing is a little strange sometimes and I wish we got more about what happened with her and her family in the end, but I wouldn’t even knock of part of a star for that because it was nothing compared to all of the greatness the rest of the book offered.
TW: abusive relationships, substance abuse, character gets outed, racism
TW: abusive relationships, substance abuse, character gets outed, racism
May 8, 2018
This review was originally posted on StrupagFollowing an incident at home in Rainelle, West Virginia, 17 year old Rilla is sent to stay with her elder sister, Thea, a Ranger in Yosemite, California. She has schoolwork to catch up on over the summer if she wants to graduate high school and Thea is determined to see her achieve it.
It seems she is the only person in Yosemite who doesn't climb or hike. So when she makes friends with a group of climbers, she gets some lessons and catches the climbing bug.
This is probably best described as a 'coming of age' tale. Rilla arrives in Yosemite at the start of summer and is lost and low, but we see her progress as the story evolves.
I wanted to enjoy this book and there were parts I did get caught up in but overall I found it pretty lacklustre. For the first 80 pages or so I was pretty bored, to be honest.
Evidently, the author has a love of climbing and this shines through, but at times I found all the technical jargon a bit too much. Don't get me wrong, I did learn along with Rilla, but at times I couldn't process, or want to process, all the climbing lingo.
I felt that most of this book trundled along, then at the end, when there was finally some action, it was rushed. I'd have liked more of the action at the end and less preamble.
Also, I didn't really care that much about the characters. I wasn't particularly rooting for any of them and I find books like that hard to get into.
This wasn't really the book for me. I learned about Yosemite and (when I wasn't overwhelmed) about climbing but I was left pretty disappointed by this read.
It seems she is the only person in Yosemite who doesn't climb or hike. So when she makes friends with a group of climbers, she gets some lessons and catches the climbing bug.
This is probably best described as a 'coming of age' tale. Rilla arrives in Yosemite at the start of summer and is lost and low, but we see her progress as the story evolves.
I wanted to enjoy this book and there were parts I did get caught up in but overall I found it pretty lacklustre. For the first 80 pages or so I was pretty bored, to be honest.
Evidently, the author has a love of climbing and this shines through, but at times I found all the technical jargon a bit too much. Don't get me wrong, I did learn along with Rilla, but at times I couldn't process, or want to process, all the climbing lingo.
I felt that most of this book trundled along, then at the end, when there was finally some action, it was rushed. I'd have liked more of the action at the end and less preamble.
Also, I didn't really care that much about the characters. I wasn't particularly rooting for any of them and I find books like that hard to get into.
This wasn't really the book for me. I learned about Yosemite and (when I wasn't overwhelmed) about climbing but I was left pretty disappointed by this read.
June 25, 2019
Looking for a vividly written book all about a girl finding herself through climbing? Then this is the book for you.
Firstly I have to mention how obsessed I am with Sarah Nicole Lemon’s writing. She perfectly captures summer nostalgia in her writing as well as painting a gorgeous picture of Yosemite.
I can see how not everyone will like Rilla, but I really enjoyed her character. She’s flawed and closed off and insecure but she overcomes the majority of it as she spends time in Yosemite.
The romance was also so good. It’s not one of those contemporaries where the romance overtakes the main character’s arc, but complements it. The tension between Walker and Rilla is so good. I just loved their back and forth.
I can see why this book wouldn’t be for everyone, but it just spoke to a part of me that loves summer stories, redemption arcs and climbing.
Firstly I have to mention how obsessed I am with Sarah Nicole Lemon’s writing. She perfectly captures summer nostalgia in her writing as well as painting a gorgeous picture of Yosemite.
I can see how not everyone will like Rilla, but I really enjoyed her character. She’s flawed and closed off and insecure but she overcomes the majority of it as she spends time in Yosemite.
The romance was also so good. It’s not one of those contemporaries where the romance overtakes the main character’s arc, but complements it. The tension between Walker and Rilla is so good. I just loved their back and forth.
I can see why this book wouldn’t be for everyone, but it just spoke to a part of me that loves summer stories, redemption arcs and climbing.
July 24, 2018
3.5. The Yosemite setting was done so well - it all felt extremely real. I had some issues with the relationships - the "Walker is only in this for fun" wasn't really telegraphed well, & the Petra & Adeena stuff at the end sort of came out of nowhere?
Anyway, this was a pretty fun read (if very long!)
Anyway, this was a pretty fun read (if very long!)
July 1, 2018
Not really a what I expected but a easy fun read anyway. Even though the story takes place in Yosemite it’s really about a hormonally challenged teenage girl who ends up in Yosemite. A better read for a teenager
July 9, 2024
I was really enjoying this up until the last few chapters😑
July 11, 2019
3.5 stars!
October 22, 2024
This book was amazing! It made me cry and really take a hard look at myself.
As a previous climber and adventure seeker, the author PERFECTLY describes how it feels to be young and figuring things out in a space you so desperately want to belong!
As a previous climber and adventure seeker, the author PERFECTLY describes how it feels to be young and figuring things out in a space you so desperately want to belong!
April 29, 2018
Yosemite Valley, not LA Valley... and there was nothing there to make me care about what happened.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
July 21, 2022
Went out of my comfort zone and tried to kick off my break with a fun, girl power, summer-type novel, and boy oh boy was I disappointed. Let’s start with the pros. As a Cali girl, my favorite character in this book was Yosemite. I read a review that said Valley Girls is a love letter to Yosemite, and I couldn’t agree more. The climbing is also all that it promises to be: fun, adventurous, and dangerous - and if you’ve never been to Yosemite, you’ll get a glimpse of it’s beauty. Unfortunately, the cons heavily outweighed the pros for me. The character development in this book is practically nonexistent. Our MC is a moody teen with a (not thoroughly explained) past who makes questionable choices all throughout the book. She was relatable, sure, but she never really grew as a person, her big “growth” moment was anticlimactic and I ended up wanting the book to be about the other climbers. This book also doesn’t deliver in terms of romance, considering that our MC counts down the days to when she can legally hook up with Walker (a 20 year old climber) after being 17 for most of the summer. Long story short, I should’ve stuck to the genres I know and love. Valley Girls just wasn’t for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2018
Our unlikeable mc Rilla has taken quite a hit here in ye olde goodreads reviews, but I found her to be very relatable with a great arc. She was a little pain in the ass who was afforded more kindness than she deserved (at first), but isn’t that what we all want? For someone cool to reach out and include us, even when our heads are good and tucked inside our own butts? I don’t know man; I kinda like Rilla Skidmore.
In other news, there was *a lot* of climbing in the book. A. Lot. Before you jump my shit, be advised I am aware this is a book about climbing. Like, I knew, but I didn’t knoooow. A lot of gear names, knot names, climb names, human names, ALL THE NAMES. It’s just ... a lot. You decide what to do with that.
Anyway, I think this is a great book for lovers of rock climbing, and/or assholes who know they’re assholes but feel bad about it and want to channel their assholery into something more.
In other news, there was *a lot* of climbing in the book. A. Lot. Before you jump my shit, be advised I am aware this is a book about climbing. Like, I knew, but I didn’t knoooow. A lot of gear names, knot names, climb names, human names, ALL THE NAMES. It’s just ... a lot. You decide what to do with that.
Anyway, I think this is a great book for lovers of rock climbing, and/or assholes who know they’re assholes but feel bad about it and want to channel their assholery into something more.
January 19, 2018
As someone that used to do climbing (admittedly, though, indoors and in the UK climbing spots, nowhere near as amazing as Yosemite), I really loved the premise and idea of this book. It seems more like a tribute to the National Park than anything, though, which would have made for a good overall story, if I hadn't disliked the main character so intensely.
Rilla is genuinely a terrible person, she has few likeable qualities and it just felt like, to me, throughout this novel, that she was just being a whiny brat for the sake of it. Her chemistry with her friends seemed almost non-existent, as well, and for a book that mainly focuses on friendship, that just didn't work for me.
Rilla is genuinely a terrible person, she has few likeable qualities and it just felt like, to me, throughout this novel, that she was just being a whiny brat for the sake of it. Her chemistry with her friends seemed almost non-existent, as well, and for a book that mainly focuses on friendship, that just didn't work for me.
December 20, 2019
*ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.
Can someone please tell me what happened in this book because ya girl could not tell you.
It was 400 pages about Rilla being sent to live in a national park with sister after an incident that we never end up finding out about?!
Rilla - annoying, can't make up her mind teenager.
Thea - Rilla's gay sister who I wish this book was about.
RIlla's love interest - cannot even remember his name so *insert shrugging emoji here* the whole 'relationship' was a pain and the arguments pointless when they weren't even a couple?
Oh, and occassionally Rilla climbs some rocks.
Can someone please tell me what happened in this book because ya girl could not tell you.
It was 400 pages about Rilla being sent to live in a national park with sister after an incident that we never end up finding out about?!
Rilla - annoying, can't make up her mind teenager.
Thea - Rilla's gay sister who I wish this book was about.
RIlla's love interest - cannot even remember his name so *insert shrugging emoji here* the whole 'relationship' was a pain and the arguments pointless when they weren't even a couple?
Oh, and occassionally Rilla climbs some rocks.
December 7, 2018
Good book. Very relatable. I would like to fall off a cliff. I like how Rilla is struggling and finds something that inspires her.
May 31, 2018
VALLEY GIRLS is the newest release from Sarah Nicole Lemon, who is also the author of DONE DIRT CHEAP. VALLEY GIRLS follows Rilla Skidmore, who is sent to live in Yosemite National Park with her half-sister after being busted while partying. Thea, her half-sister, vows to fix Rilla’s rebellious behavior. Rilla quickly finds a new passion, rock climbing, in Yosemite and sets out of climb El Capitan. Her journey to the summit is accompanied by her first love and struggle to rebuild her broken family.
I was honestly not a big fan of this book. It was initially very challenging to get through and then I struggled to find motivation to continue. I also felt that some of the scenes when Rilla first arrives at Yosemite were difficult to understand. The new environment and endless list of new characters were hard for me to keep up with, especially at first. I think my biggest problem with VALLEY GIRLS was Rilla herself. She was difficult to relate to and I never really developed a connection to her as I was reading. The plot is structured perfectly for the reader to be constantly cheering on the main character, but I just couldn’t find much in Rilla to root for. I also kept waiting for Rilla to develop and although the climbing showcased her growth, I did not feel like the summer away had the life changing effect that her family had intended it to.
However, I loved the setting and general concept of VALLEY GIRLS. I have never been to Yosemite or a national park, but I find them super interesting and had a lot of fun reading a book that was set in one. I think anyone who has been to Yosemite would appreciate the setting even more as they could picture the exact locations where Rilla eats, sleeps and climbs. Beyond the setting, the climbing narrative within the novel was so much fun to read about. It was such a cool and new experience to have as a reader and it definitely made me interested in trying it out for myself one day, on a much smaller scale of course.
I also really appreciated how much this book stood out from things that I have read before within the YA genre. This was also largely due to the setting and premise of the novel. These two aspects really made the book for me and were definitely the pieces of VALLEY GIRLS that became my motivation to keep reading. I found the setting, especially, to be really refreshing and a fun introduction to a place that I would love to and could actually visit one day. Some of the characters in Rilla’s “climbing crew” were also entertaining to read about. I wish a few of them were better developed and that they reader got more time with their storylines.
Overall, VALLEY GIRLS has an interesting premise and arguably one of the coolest real life settings for a YA novel. However, I did not love this book as much as I had hoped I would. Personally, the characters held me back from really loving the book in its entirety but there were definitely pieces of it that made the reading experience worthwhile. I would recommend VALLEY GIRLS to anyone who has been to Yosemite or is planning to go. The setting is by far the book’s best attribute and it would be even more phenomenal for someone who understands the area to read about it.
Reviewed by Danielle F., Teen Board Member
I was honestly not a big fan of this book. It was initially very challenging to get through and then I struggled to find motivation to continue. I also felt that some of the scenes when Rilla first arrives at Yosemite were difficult to understand. The new environment and endless list of new characters were hard for me to keep up with, especially at first. I think my biggest problem with VALLEY GIRLS was Rilla herself. She was difficult to relate to and I never really developed a connection to her as I was reading. The plot is structured perfectly for the reader to be constantly cheering on the main character, but I just couldn’t find much in Rilla to root for. I also kept waiting for Rilla to develop and although the climbing showcased her growth, I did not feel like the summer away had the life changing effect that her family had intended it to.
However, I loved the setting and general concept of VALLEY GIRLS. I have never been to Yosemite or a national park, but I find them super interesting and had a lot of fun reading a book that was set in one. I think anyone who has been to Yosemite would appreciate the setting even more as they could picture the exact locations where Rilla eats, sleeps and climbs. Beyond the setting, the climbing narrative within the novel was so much fun to read about. It was such a cool and new experience to have as a reader and it definitely made me interested in trying it out for myself one day, on a much smaller scale of course.
I also really appreciated how much this book stood out from things that I have read before within the YA genre. This was also largely due to the setting and premise of the novel. These two aspects really made the book for me and were definitely the pieces of VALLEY GIRLS that became my motivation to keep reading. I found the setting, especially, to be really refreshing and a fun introduction to a place that I would love to and could actually visit one day. Some of the characters in Rilla’s “climbing crew” were also entertaining to read about. I wish a few of them were better developed and that they reader got more time with their storylines.
Overall, VALLEY GIRLS has an interesting premise and arguably one of the coolest real life settings for a YA novel. However, I did not love this book as much as I had hoped I would. Personally, the characters held me back from really loving the book in its entirety but there were definitely pieces of it that made the reading experience worthwhile. I would recommend VALLEY GIRLS to anyone who has been to Yosemite or is planning to go. The setting is by far the book’s best attribute and it would be even more phenomenal for someone who understands the area to read about it.
Reviewed by Danielle F., Teen Board Member
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