Coming Back Alive

by Dennis J. Reader

A girl. A boy. Bridget. Dylan. Very bad things can happen to families. And when very bad things--the worst--do happen to their families, Bridget and Dylan believe they must escape a cruel world that threatens even them. Together they run away to the deep isolated wilderness of northern California, far away from other people. To survive there is brutally hard yet always surrounded by great beauty. Painfully they learn the lessons of the mountains. They learn to stay hidden from their human enemies. They learn they have each other and an unspoken love. But time is supposed to heal all wounds and all tragedies, or at least accept them as inevitable. Bridget. Dylan. One of them agrees about time and acceptance, the other does not. Now they have their mountains, or a return from the mountains, or their unspoken love, and an impossible choice to make.

This novel was placed on numerous national best-of-year lists.

Genres: Survival, Young Adult

318 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Andria · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS is the book that I had been trying to find for years, basically ever since I lost my original copy in the late 80s. It's the story of Bridget and Dylan, two troubled teens who run away from their troubles and make a life for themselves in the wilderness of the Northern California mountains, and I read it a BILLION times when I was a teenager.

[Kayleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Special thanks to the What's the Name of That Book group for helping my find the book I've been looking for these last ten or more years.

This one resonated with me as a tween. Sort of My Side of the Mountain or Hatchet. Two teens living on their terms, coming back (or not) on their terms. Fairly realistic challenges and obstacles. Loved it then, loved revisiting it now.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I liked parts of it. But what an unsatisfying ending, no?

How many of us have wanted to run away to the woods? Well, these two teens actually do it, and succeed at it.

I kept wanting to know what they did with their trash. The food cans and packets they bought. They had trash that couldn't be burned and wouldn't biodegrade. Did they bury it, have their own mini landfills? Seems like they would have used the metal. And they definitely evolved into "mountain men" types, referencing Ishi and referring to themselves as Indians. Also, safe drinking water. We always like the idea of drinking straight from a stream, but really, there should be boiling or some kind of tablets, or filtration, and I think Dylan would have read about that and prepared for it. These kinds of survival stories always leave a lot of logistical questions.

Still, I did like parts. Not a romance, but a true love story.

And I love that most excellent 1980s Avon Flare cover.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unforgettable story of two adolescents struggling through the hellscape of life.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wavering between 4 and 5 stars because some of their conversations get a bit dry and overly philosophical in the way that anti-establishment teen lit of the 70s often is, but I was surprised by how thoroughly I got swept up in the details of their survival plans. It took me nearly three hours to finish the slim 240-page novel because I was so engrossed. Dylan really did do an impressive amount of research for disappearing, and they do far better than I would have thought on their own, with far more successes than failures.

There are definitely some cringe elements in how they start comparing themselves to Native Americans (sure, kids, your little adventure is tooootally the same as being persecuted by white settlers in the 19th century. It's just so unfair how society won't simply leave you alone to *checks notes* illegally camp, hunt and fish wherever you like). But on the bright side, I did learn about Ishi, whom I'd never heard of before.

Bottom line, though, I loved all the content focusing on the day to day of finding/preparing/stockpiling food, creating warm and secure shelter, and other ideas as they come up when you've gotten good enough at those tasks to warrant more free time.

The one major disappointment is the ending. It's like the book is missing two or three chapters. What do you mean it just STOPS with Bridget deciding to head back to her aunt, whom she's started to feel bad about worrying/has realized was Doing Her Best, with him taking her to the edge of civilization and leaving her to make her way home from there??

I really hope that poor kid survives the winter alone. As skilled as they were, I have Some Doubts. I also have Some Questions about whether Bridget is going to get caught/charged with anything by the time she gets back, because at minimum I feel like they violated some fish & game laws...

[ElaineJim Kaiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in 1983. Can’t find it anywhere. Would love to read it again.