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Three Rivers
This isn’t happening. It’s only a nightmare, only a stupid dream. Just wake up, Stella!
But it isn’t a dream. Two strangers take Stella from her bedroom in the middle of the night and haul her off to Three Rivers, a wilderness therapy program for troubled teens.
At the program, Stella puts up as much resistance to participating as she can. She’s not an “at-risk youth”―she’s not a felon or a druggie or an arsonist like the rest of the kids in her group. She’s a normal teenager who happens to star on a hit TV show. But slowly, despite herself, she starts to open up, make friends, and confront why she was really sent there.
But it isn’t a dream. Two strangers take Stella from her bedroom in the middle of the night and haul her off to Three Rivers, a wilderness therapy program for troubled teens.
At the program, Stella puts up as much resistance to participating as she can. She’s not an “at-risk youth”―she’s not a felon or a druggie or an arsonist like the rest of the kids in her group. She’s a normal teenager who happens to star on a hit TV show. But slowly, despite herself, she starts to open up, make friends, and confront why she was really sent there.
216 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2023
62 people are currently reading
878 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
June 20, 2023
Did I read the book? No. Am I petty? Yes
June 20, 2023
I would rather read the back of a shampoo bottle.
June 20, 2023
NOTE – This review will be about the book, not Sarah’s abhorrent behavior towards a reviewer. Her behavior is between her and g*d; this book review is between me and goodreads.
So, with that out of the way, the review:
This book had so much potential, but it just didn’t stick the landing for a myriad of reasons. While stylistically the author can write, she doesn’t connect the disparate pieces of information she gives us, which leave us with holes in the narrative that end in the book being subpar. Here are some of my problems with this book:
Stella doesn’t feel like a real person
The first and most significant is that Stella just didn’t ring true, and I failed to see the “inner growth and maturity” that the blurb promised.
Inauthentic Gen Z voice
I have two Gen Z niblings, and asked them at various points if the language or references that Stella uses are realistic. Even considering her acting-career (and I use ‘career’ loosely – more on that later), she speaks like a millennial.
No emotional growth is SHOWN to us
We just have to trust Stella’s word? Why didn’t we get to experience her learning skills and supposed growth? Very little of the wilderness training was described; Stella would just suddenly be advancing for no discernible reason. Where is her hard work and learning? It didn’t feel like she earned graduation at all.
Stella is delusional and inconsistent
Simultaneously obsessed with getting attention and lamenting over getting attention. What?
Stella's acting "career" was weak af
Stella herself is all over the place about her acting success. She, on several occasions, remarks that she's been in the public eye her entire life, but then mentions almost quitting acting because she couldn't break out of commercials. Listen. There isn't a soul in America who can identify some rando kid in a commercial unless you already knew that kid, so it really wasn't until CDS that Stella would have been realistically recognizable. I'm not discounting her four seasons in CDS, but Stella seems to conflate her commercial gigs with her spot on CDS. I also wouldn't say that she stars on the show. She's a side character. I actually laughed out loud when Stella made this ridiculous proclamation:
And so, this book, despite being based on the author’s own experiences, reads like wish-fulfillment mixed with grandiose self-reflection? This is so sad, because the writing ability is there, it’s the content that sucks. 1.5 stars.
Two other things side notes:
- There are a couple inconsistencies that could be quickly and easily fixed before publication, should you be interested in hearing them (although somehow I doubt you are?).
- In later works, please refrain from making fun of actual people. That bit about Jamie Lee Curtis having leathered skin? What was that for? She looks phenomenal especially at her age, AND IS A REAL PERSON. What was gained by shitting on a real person?
I received a free copy of this book from BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
So, with that out of the way, the review:
This book had so much potential, but it just didn’t stick the landing for a myriad of reasons. While stylistically the author can write, she doesn’t connect the disparate pieces of information she gives us, which leave us with holes in the narrative that end in the book being subpar. Here are some of my problems with this book:
Stella doesn’t feel like a real person
The first and most significant is that Stella just didn’t ring true, and I failed to see the “inner growth and maturity” that the blurb promised.
Inauthentic Gen Z voice
I have two Gen Z niblings, and asked them at various points if the language or references that Stella uses are realistic. Even considering her acting-career (and I use ‘career’ loosely – more on that later), she speaks like a millennial.
No emotional growth is SHOWN to us
We just have to trust Stella’s word? Why didn’t we get to experience her learning skills and supposed growth? Very little of the wilderness training was described; Stella would just suddenly be advancing for no discernible reason. Where is her hard work and learning? It didn’t feel like she earned graduation at all.
Stella is delusional and inconsistent
Simultaneously obsessed with getting attention and lamenting over getting attention. What?
Stella's acting "career" was weak af
Stella herself is all over the place about her acting success. She, on several occasions, remarks that she's been in the public eye her entire life, but then mentions almost quitting acting because she couldn't break out of commercials. Listen. There isn't a soul in America who can identify some rando kid in a commercial unless you already knew that kid, so it really wasn't until CDS that Stella would have been realistically recognizable. I'm not discounting her four seasons in CDS, but Stella seems to conflate her commercial gigs with her spot on CDS. I also wouldn't say that she stars on the show. She's a side character. I actually laughed out loud when Stella made this ridiculous proclamation:
I know this would shock most of my fans, but I’ve made a career out of being uncomfortable. Maybe not as physically uncomfortable as sleeping on cold, hard ground, but I’ve been a fish in a bowl with a spotlight pointed at me pretty much since I can remember.... By "since [she] can remember" does she mean only the past four years? She was 13 when she landed the role on CDS. Stella has no true sense of self and how she interacts with the world, and that never changes in this story.
And so, this book, despite being based on the author’s own experiences, reads like wish-fulfillment mixed with grandiose self-reflection? This is so sad, because the writing ability is there, it’s the content that sucks. 1.5 stars.
Two other things side notes:
- There are a couple inconsistencies that could be quickly and easily fixed before publication, should you be interested in hearing them (although somehow I doubt you are?).
- In later works, please refrain from making fun of actual people. That bit about Jamie Lee Curtis having leathered skin? What was that for? She looks phenomenal especially at her age, AND IS A REAL PERSON. What was gained by shitting on a real person?
I received a free copy of this book from BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
Want to read
July 3, 2023Unpopular opinion, bombarding book with bad reviews over some petty drama makes you as childish and lame as author’s reaction.
July 13, 2023
Just here for shits and giggles
July 11, 2023
The worst book I never read
June 20, 2023
didnt read it but im petty so..
June 20, 2023
This is an enticing coming of age story. That begins dark, yet grows into something I was not expecting. Stella has wanted to be an actress for as long as she can remember, and she has done it. She is part of a show and is succeeding in that part of her life. In every other part she is spiraling down a drain. Looking for acceptance and friendship in everyone she comes across. Being used for drugs and in exchange for a "friendship". This destructive behavior leads to a horrifying night, when one of the other castmates overdoses at Stella's home.
From there her life is turned upside down and no longer belongs to her. Her parents signed her up for Three Rivers which they call a transformational experience. They kidnap Stella, drag her out of her house, and fly her to Montana. She has no idea who these people are or what they are doing with her. Stella is dropped off in the middle of the wilderness and learns how to live and survive in the elements. You see her blossom and grow into a completely different person as each of the twelve weeks passes. Growing stronger and developing friendships to last a lifetime.
This is a fantastic debut novel by Sarah Stusek. Who uses her own experiences to bring this incredible journey to life. I am still wondering how they survived out in the cold, without showering, extremely limited shelter, and hiking for hours a day. I would have gone insane. Thank you to Sarah Stusek and Sabrina Dax for my gifted copy of this incredible book.
From there her life is turned upside down and no longer belongs to her. Her parents signed her up for Three Rivers which they call a transformational experience. They kidnap Stella, drag her out of her house, and fly her to Montana. She has no idea who these people are or what they are doing with her. Stella is dropped off in the middle of the wilderness and learns how to live and survive in the elements. You see her blossom and grow into a completely different person as each of the twelve weeks passes. Growing stronger and developing friendships to last a lifetime.
This is a fantastic debut novel by Sarah Stusek. Who uses her own experiences to bring this incredible journey to life. I am still wondering how they survived out in the cold, without showering, extremely limited shelter, and hiking for hours a day. I would have gone insane. Thank you to Sarah Stusek and Sabrina Dax for my gifted copy of this incredible book.
July 23, 2023
I didn’t read it but I just know it sucks so 🤷♀️🤷♀️
June 16, 2024
I liked the book for the most part. There were several parts that I wasn't fond of - the girl acting almost entitled to get attention because 'she's an actress'; the constant reminding of her being an actress; and the feinging of innocence, when there really were some serious issues going on.
I don't really want to leave a fully honest review as I don't want to be attacked by the author; be called out and called names as she has with others who didn't give her five stars.
Honestly? A book has to be darn good to get 5 stars and this is not a 5 star book.
I don't really want to leave a fully honest review as I don't want to be attacked by the author; be called out and called names as she has with others who didn't give her five stars.
Honestly? A book has to be darn good to get 5 stars and this is not a 5 star book.
July 15, 2023
Just because 🤷🏻♀️
July 4, 2023
The book’s just as bad as the author. Would give zero stars if I could <33
September 13, 2023
I worry about the harm this book could cause to furthering the goals of the Troubled Teen Industry. I will not lie, this book was written very well. I enjoyed reading it as a source of fiction. But I feel it greatly romanticized wilderness camp and minimized the harm it has historically caused.
There was one line in the book, something like “they wouldn’t put us out here if they didn’t think we could handle it” written with full sincerity. But the truth of the matter is that so many kids HAVE DIED due to these camps.
I worry kids will read this book and glorify the idea of wilderness. I worry parents will read this book and decide wilderness is the right choice for their kids.
I enjoyed the story and growth of the main character, but I cannot in good faith endorse this book and the pro-wilderness narrative it takes on.
There was one line in the book, something like “they wouldn’t put us out here if they didn’t think we could handle it” written with full sincerity. But the truth of the matter is that so many kids HAVE DIED due to these camps.
I worry kids will read this book and glorify the idea of wilderness. I worry parents will read this book and decide wilderness is the right choice for their kids.
I enjoyed the story and growth of the main character, but I cannot in good faith endorse this book and the pro-wilderness narrative it takes on.
August 12, 2023
Y’all she’s got bots giving her 5 star reviews now. What a loser 🤭
November 29, 2023
Just for the record, I’d just like to say that I had no idea there was any controversy with this author online, so this entire review is genuinely about the book itself.
This is my fault, but I totally misunderstood what this book was going to be. I watched a TikTok from the author and saved the book for later, but must have forgotten the context when I got around to reading it. I read the entire thing thinking it was a memoir (and yes, also thinking it seemed highly unbelievable), but apparently it’s a fictionalized version of true events in the author’s life. Which, alright. Let’s break it down.
The Wilderness Therapy Thing: Honestly, one of the biggest critiques of the entire book is the weird romanticization of wilderness therapy. I know that the author went through it herself. Maybe she just thought the character feeling positively about it was better for the plot, or maybe she genuinely had a good experience, but either way I think it’s very irresponsible to present without notes inside or outside of the story.
For those that aren’t familiar, wilderness therapy is this strange industry that serves to “rehabilitate” quote unquote bad kids through nature. Sounds great, right? Except most of the quote unquote bad kids just have piece of shit parents, most of the rehabilitation is physical and sexual abuse, and the nature portion is actually forced exposure to the elements for months on end. Kids have died in these programs, have gotten extremely sick, are underfed and denied medical treatment, have suffered lifelong physical injuries. It is hard to summarize in such a short paragraph, but it is genuinely appalling to think that it is even legal let alone recommended, and this book is a very weird depiction of a very real problem.
The Development Thing: Or lack thereof? I don’t know. It’s very forced and very predictable and very on the nose. I have a hard time critiquing shitty plots when they’re memoirs because, you know, rude, but this WAS fictionalized so if the author did that to improve the story, well then… where’s the improvement? It’s like she fleshed out the beats a book is supposed to hit and then explicitly spelled them out at the right time in the story, but failed to actually do the development.
The Writing Thing: The writing is bad, let’s start there. The formatting is weird (I mean, shit, I knew to make a new paragraph for a new speaker when I was 12 and writing One Direction fanfiction… why am I reading ONE paragraph with three different speakers in it?), the sentences are boring, the emotions are very jarring but fail to immerse you, and the overall project is just juvenile. Again, I rarely critique bad writing when it’s a memoir, but again, this author has presented this story as a novel, and so I will critique it as a novel.
The Fictionalized Thing: I’ve mentioned it a couple of times now, but the author has indeed fictionalized her story to make it more appealing. Well, that’s her pitch. In reality, it seems like she was a nobody child actor doing commercials for a couple hundred bucks, maybe graduating to some unknown TV show on some unknown network, who got sent to wilderness therapy 15 years ago and came back to a failed career. In the story, she’s a modern day teenage star, with almost a million followers on Instagram, and the star of a popular TV show who got caught by paparazzi doing something dumb.
Look, I don’t know why exactly the author made those changes or the exact truths of her life. But it READS as if the author just wanted to write about a teenager that she wasn’t. A cooler, more popular, more talented teenager. And that’s just kind of sad.
Two stars for being a decent concept. Minus three stars for being terrible.
This is my fault, but I totally misunderstood what this book was going to be. I watched a TikTok from the author and saved the book for later, but must have forgotten the context when I got around to reading it. I read the entire thing thinking it was a memoir (and yes, also thinking it seemed highly unbelievable), but apparently it’s a fictionalized version of true events in the author’s life. Which, alright. Let’s break it down.
The Wilderness Therapy Thing: Honestly, one of the biggest critiques of the entire book is the weird romanticization of wilderness therapy. I know that the author went through it herself. Maybe she just thought the character feeling positively about it was better for the plot, or maybe she genuinely had a good experience, but either way I think it’s very irresponsible to present without notes inside or outside of the story.
For those that aren’t familiar, wilderness therapy is this strange industry that serves to “rehabilitate” quote unquote bad kids through nature. Sounds great, right? Except most of the quote unquote bad kids just have piece of shit parents, most of the rehabilitation is physical and sexual abuse, and the nature portion is actually forced exposure to the elements for months on end. Kids have died in these programs, have gotten extremely sick, are underfed and denied medical treatment, have suffered lifelong physical injuries. It is hard to summarize in such a short paragraph, but it is genuinely appalling to think that it is even legal let alone recommended, and this book is a very weird depiction of a very real problem.
The Development Thing: Or lack thereof? I don’t know. It’s very forced and very predictable and very on the nose. I have a hard time critiquing shitty plots when they’re memoirs because, you know, rude, but this WAS fictionalized so if the author did that to improve the story, well then… where’s the improvement? It’s like she fleshed out the beats a book is supposed to hit and then explicitly spelled them out at the right time in the story, but failed to actually do the development.
The Writing Thing: The writing is bad, let’s start there. The formatting is weird (I mean, shit, I knew to make a new paragraph for a new speaker when I was 12 and writing One Direction fanfiction… why am I reading ONE paragraph with three different speakers in it?), the sentences are boring, the emotions are very jarring but fail to immerse you, and the overall project is just juvenile. Again, I rarely critique bad writing when it’s a memoir, but again, this author has presented this story as a novel, and so I will critique it as a novel.
The Fictionalized Thing: I’ve mentioned it a couple of times now, but the author has indeed fictionalized her story to make it more appealing. Well, that’s her pitch. In reality, it seems like she was a nobody child actor doing commercials for a couple hundred bucks, maybe graduating to some unknown TV show on some unknown network, who got sent to wilderness therapy 15 years ago and came back to a failed career. In the story, she’s a modern day teenage star, with almost a million followers on Instagram, and the star of a popular TV show who got caught by paparazzi doing something dumb.
Look, I don’t know why exactly the author made those changes or the exact truths of her life. But it READS as if the author just wanted to write about a teenager that she wasn’t. A cooler, more popular, more talented teenager. And that’s just kind of sad.
Two stars for being a decent concept. Minus three stars for being terrible.
July 10, 2023
book sucks, author sucks that’s a wrap
January 21, 2024
First of all I would like to say just how dissapointing it is seeing multiple people giving this book one star and reviewing saying “I didn’t even read it” “or I don’t have to read it to know it’s bad”. If you have read the book and give it an honest one star then fine that was your opinion but if you haven’t even read it STAY OUT OF IT!! Anyways moving on:
I saw this book on instagram and it was an impulse in the moment buy. I was intrigued by the whole premise of it and had vaguely heard of wilderness therapy camps before. I was super excited to read it! Just a few days before I started it, I watched a Netflix documentary called Hell Camp and it was about a certain wilderness therapy camp. So having prior knowledge about them was quite interesting. Starting off in the story I did not like Stella’s character. She was quite self-absorbed and thought she was “the stuff”. It was quite annoying. But throughout the book you can see her change in character and how she really does learn to appreciate even the mundane aspects of everyday life. You can never truly know what it’s like without it unless you are deprived of it. I thought it was a fairly interesting story and I enjoyed reading it. Although I’d say I didn’t quite enjoy the last page when she decides to take the blunt from Riley. I figured she’d change more than that. This book just didn’t quite reach the five stars because of those previous points. Though I didn’t think it was deserving of a low three stars so I settled for four. I also kept in mind that this was based on Sarah Stusek’s real experiences and I respect that truly. I feel like that was also an interesting aspect.
I saw this book on instagram and it was an impulse in the moment buy. I was intrigued by the whole premise of it and had vaguely heard of wilderness therapy camps before. I was super excited to read it! Just a few days before I started it, I watched a Netflix documentary called Hell Camp and it was about a certain wilderness therapy camp. So having prior knowledge about them was quite interesting. Starting off in the story I did not like Stella’s character. She was quite self-absorbed and thought she was “the stuff”. It was quite annoying. But throughout the book you can see her change in character and how she really does learn to appreciate even the mundane aspects of everyday life. You can never truly know what it’s like without it unless you are deprived of it. I thought it was a fairly interesting story and I enjoyed reading it. Although I’d say I didn’t quite enjoy the last page when she decides to take the blunt from Riley. I figured she’d change more than that. This book just didn’t quite reach the five stars because of those previous points. Though I didn’t think it was deserving of a low three stars so I settled for four. I also kept in mind that this was based on Sarah Stusek’s real experiences and I respect that truly. I feel like that was also an interesting aspect.
August 16, 2023
Oh i can finally rate it!
This author is so unhinged and not in the good way 😒.
This author is so unhinged and not in the good way 😒.
August 16, 2023
been waiting for goodreads to allow 1 star reviews on this book again
August 6, 2023
It just didn’t stick out to me. Author is apparently a professional comedian should have stuck to that.
August 13, 2023
why isn’t there a 0 star option..?
August 9, 2023
Some authors need to get a check up. Ever heard of professionalism ?
August 17, 2023
iykyk
August 24, 2023
gobble me swallow me drip down the side of me 🧏🏻♀️
August 28, 2023
came from that one tik tok
November 15, 2023
This story was boring and not as well told as Paris’ story. I would recommend Paris’ memoir instead.
July 16, 2023
I wanted to kill myself because of reading this book xxx
August 8, 2023
never read this in my life and never will
August 13, 2023
I didn’t read and i never want to.
January 12, 2024
This book wasn’t what I expected at all. The wilderness therapy was actually an overall positive experience for the author, whereas I was expecting the event to traumatize her forever. I related to her trials on some level having attended (voluntarily) a Christian boot camp for girls; however, the camp was more of a negative experience for me than a positive one. Three Rivers was an interesting read, and I’m glad I didn’t let the controversy with the author deter me from reading. I only wish this was a 100 percent true account of her story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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