Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Full review to be found on Goodreads and on my website.

DNF @31%

After 10%, I just lost interest in the story, and the characters were not memorable.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

LOVED this story! Mindy truly knows how to write a domestic suspense. I turned pages faster than I ever have. this was a quick and engaging read.

A Review of Mindy Mejia’s “Leave No Trace”
The Great Outdoors
I grew up outside of Algonquin Provincial Park in central Ontario, and I like to joke that the small town in which I lived was located right next door to the middle of nowhere. It’s kind of true: Algonquin is a vast, sprawling, untamed wilderness that goes on for miles and miles. Seeing as though I grew up near there, you may be surprised to learn that I didn’t take too much advantage of it in my youth. I wasn’t really much of an outdoors nut, and was more the city slicker that I now am. But, on occasion, my father and I (and maybe another relative) would go there for a weekend camping trip where I learned to canoe and learned to fail at catching a fish. Well, nature lovers, I have a book for you, maybe: Mindy Mejia’s Leave No Trace, which is set in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota, and which is, for all intents and purposes, the middle of nowhere.

The book concerns a young man named Lucas Blackthorn, who disappeared with his father 10 years ago into the Boundary Waters and hasn’t been seen since – until he shows up one night trying to break into a camping outfitter’s store in a nearby small town, which results in a woman getting killed. Lucas is sent to a psychiatric institution, which he repeatedly tries to break out of because he wants to be reunited with his ailing father. There, however, he meets a speech therapist named Maya Stark – who was a previous resident at the facility in a past life – who wants to help him. To say very much more would be tip-toeing into spoiler territory.

The thing is, I’m going to have to talk about some things in this ridiculous book – so feel free to look at other online reviews if you don’t want to be spoiled – because they really drag the book down. Maya gets romantically attached to Lucas, so, naturally, this leads to the author basically painting herself into a corner and leads to an unbelievable escape sequence from the facility. However, there’s a lot more that’s wrong with this book. For one thing, the author seems to have never set foot in a psychiatric facility (so she presumably doesn’t know that any kind of escape is more or less impossible). The other thing is that Lucas claims to have known Maya as a young boy, despite the fact that the two, as it turns out, never have met. It’s just this kind of implausibility and an abundance of plot holes (or shoddy plot devices) that sink the book down, like a dead weight tied to the edge of a canoe.

The thing that really gets me about this book is that Lucas tries to escape many times. The result is that the authorities keep giving him a short leash so that they can get him out of the system and fulfil his wish of reuniting with his father – to which ends Lucas uses to attempt yet another escape. It’s like a snake eating its own tail. Only after the romantic attachment is discovered, then do the authorities really start to clamp down – which is a little too late. Again, it’s as though the author doesn’t realize how psychiatrists really work. Nobody in their right mind would allow someone to escape and sully their reputation, which is what makes assigning Maya to the case all the more baffling in a way in the first place. After all, she is a former patient, and is prone to have sympathy for her subject. (And what institution in their right mind lets a former patient come back and work there as an employee?)

The other thing that doesn’t make sense about this book is that Lucas has protesters outside the gates of the facility, begging those in charge to set him free as he’s done nothing wrong. (Well, aside from an attempted break and enter that has resulted in a death.) This doesn’t feel realistic. True, Lucas may be a media sensation for being out of the public eye for a decade, but I’m willing to think that most people in the public just wouldn’t care about him. Think of it, when was the last time someone picketed a mental institution begging a patient’s release? I can’t think of any instances of this.

Despite these flaws, the book is somewhat readable. Still, I keep coming back to the faults. For instance, I felt that the relationship between Maya and her father does go nowhere, which is odd for a novel about the bonds between parents and their children, but he’s a likable enough character that we don’t get to see often enough. In the end, the book is a fairly predictable potboiler that is readable because it’s just so ludicrous. This is a bit of a spoiler, so mind me here: When we find out what Lucas’ relationship is with Maya’s mother – who has disappeared – Maya’s reaction is to help find Lucas’ father so she can avenge her death. (And, yes, the word avenge is in the book.) Has the author been watching too many superhero movies?

All in all, Leave No Trace is a book with many faults. It’s only enjoyable in a “park your brain at the door” kind of way. There’s really not a lot of substance here, and there are so many implausible things that happen in this novel that the average reader will just be rolling their eyes in frustration. We want to like Maya, as we want to like Lucas, but they seem like cardboard cut-outs most of the time. And Maya, as it turns out, turns into a bit of a criminal by novel’s end, which rubs against the professional standing she has in the psychiatric community. Who in their right mind would risk their career to abet and help a patient in ways that go against the rules, and why didn’t anyone who works at the facility see this coming a mile away – because that’s how it’s telegraphed as? Basically, Leave No Trace is a book best left in the middle of nowhere. Read it only if you have nothing else to do, because, well, it’s that kind of book. A book for the fishing trip when you’re forgotten to pack something else, really. Nothing more or less.

I had not read a book by this author prior, so I was going in for the first time with no knowledge of how Mejia writes. Reading the description I was hoping and anticipating that this would be geared more towards adults. After completion, it did not resonate too well with me as I felt it was YA.
The description drew me in - as I often gravitate towards wilderness, foresty atmospheric suspense novels.

I really didn't enjoy this book, in comparing it to her previous book,which I gave 5 stars. I found this one to be frustrating, with characters that I didn't find believable. I also thought the storyline was predictable.

MY REVIEW:

Compelling, powerful, mysterious! Three words to describe this book!

From the very first page of this book I was hooked. I enjoyed Mejia’s style of writing and the way she pulls the audience into the story in this book. A young boy named Lucas Blackthorn goes missing with his father all those years ago, only to return years later? Yes please!

I found myself immersed in Leave No Trace as it unfolded and we learn more bit by bit what happened all those years ago and why the boy and his father disappeared and why he hasn’t resurfaced until now. I enjoyed reading about Maya and Lucas’ interactions as Lucas was a patient of Maya’s and reading about their initial meeting at the psychiatric facility. When Lucas would not talk to any nurses or doctors prior to now it was interesting to see if he would open up and talk with Maya, feeling comfortable around her enough to open up. It was very interesting to watch them develop a professional relationship and to watch it grow into more of a friendship over time.

If you are looking for a fantastic thriller of a book to read and devour, look no further. I recommend this book and you will not be disappointed!

This was the first book I have read by Mindy Mejia and if definitely won’t be my last! Highly recommend this book!

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for a free, electronic ARC of this novel.
“Leave No Trace” is the newest novel by author Mindy Mejia (of “Everything You Want Me To Be” fame.) Her novels have always seemed to end up on my TBR list, but I have yet to experience her work.
Ten years ago, Josiah Blackthorn and his son, Lucas, disappeared in the Minnesota wilderness. Both were presumed dead until the day Lucas Blackthorn is discovered and brought to Congdon psychiatric facility, unwilling to speak and half-feral. His speech therapist, Maya Stark, is the only one who seems to be able to make any connection with the young man. After several escape attempts, Lucas finally asks Maya for help in reuniting him with his father, who Lucas left behind in their wildlife home. Dealing with her own issues of abandonment, Maya agrees to give up everything to help Lucas reunite with the father he left behind.
This novel had a fabulous premise, and it started off with just the right amount of everything I love. A mysterious stranger in a psychiatric facility, with dark secrets, that no one but a young woman can manage to get him to talk about. Right off the bat, this book intrigued me, however, it did not keep my rapt attention for long.
I found “Trace” to be an unbelievable novel. And I don’t mean an “oh my God, it’s so good” kind of unbelievable. I mean, the Webster’s dictionary version of “unbelievable”. First, a young woman (23 years old), with a history of mental illness herself, becomes not only the head speech therapist at a reputable facility, but she is soon taxed with serving as Lucas’ pseudo-psychiatrist (a role which would require years of training and experience). Then, she sacrifices everything she has to go on a wild goose chase for a man she doesn’t know, with Lucas, who, of course, she starts to fall for, breaking all sorts of legal laws and ethics standards.
The novel itself is superbly creative, intertwining both wilderness exploration and survival, with mental illness and family drama. There are many entertaining parts of this novel and I can admit to honestly enjoying the majority of this novel. Once I overcame the nonsensical, unbelievable parts of the novel, I was able to enjoy the plot.
Maya and Lucas are highly dysfunctional characters, each with their own parental demons and abandonment issues, which of course draws them together. When they trek together through the Minnesota wilderness, a reader is drawn into the frigid setting right along with them, through creative and well-developed storyline.
I am interested in reading Ms. Mejia’s other novels, as she definitely has writing talent, and I would like to draw comparisons in her writing styles across her books. I struggled with what to rate this novel, as I read through it quickly and held a strong enough attachment to the novel and the characters to want to see how it would play out (predictably, but still enjoyable), but it was really difficult to relate to the plot and characters (although they were likable). Overall, this novel was worth the read, and has intrigued me enough to explore the other novels by Ms. Mejia.

2.75 stars

Another short review.

Leave no trace was a first from Mejia for me and I was really excited to read it. But after doing so, I couldn’t really see what exactly I was excited about. The plot was intriguing and original, sure, but nothing else about it really intrigued me.

I really liked Maya’s character although her choices were questionable. There were times where I just thought to myself, “What is she doing?” But I guess I can understand where she came from although she could’ve not done what she did. Some really bad choices were made and it just made me question whether people really do these things in real life.

The plot was very interesting. It’s not like anything I’ve read before and the twists were somewhat shocking although I did like the forest concept of the novel. I’m very disappointed that I didn’t like it more because I was really looking forward to it.

Overall, very well written and I would like to thank Atria Books for giving me an advanced digital copy of this novel.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for early access to Leave No Trace for review! A unique and atmospheric drama, there is a lot to figure out in this novel. It opens with a boy who disappered with his father ten years ago ransacking a camping store. He is brought to a mental health facility where he’ll only talk to Maya Stark. We learn along the way that the Stark family has secrets, maybe even more than the boy and his father. The plot moves along at a decent pace, revealing parts of the Stark family mystery as well as learning more about what happened to the father and son. I liked Maya and learning more about her story. An interesting drama with a lot of mystery.
Leave No Trace is available September 4, 2018

It’s always a disappointment when a book fails to deliver on a really promising and unique premise. Unfortunately, that was the case with this novel for me. It starts off with a very interesting situation: Maya, a 23-year-old speech therapist, is working in the psychiatric hospital where she was previously a patient when a violent young man is brought in. It’s quickly discovered that the young man is Lucas Blackthorn, who went missing with his father 10 years earlier. Maya is assigned to his case and as they work together, it becomes clear that there’s something more to Lucas’ story than meets the eye.
I don’t mind suspending disbelief when I’m reading, but it was just too much with this novel. The majority of the novel takes place in the hospital. So many of the elements surrounding the setting felt so unrealistic, from Lucas’ treatments to Maya’s employment (clearly a huge conflict of interest to hire a former patient!). The tasks Maya is asked to undertake are so far out of her field, and the timelines of Lucas’ incarceration are all over the place. All of this really took me out of the story.
Then there’s the relationship between Maya and Lucas. It felt extremely forced to me. I can understand why Maya would sympathize with Lucas’ desire to find his father, given her history, but the romantic aspect never felt like it fit to me. Maya also comes across as extremely immature, which may have been intentional and again, is understandable to an extent with the history she has, but it just really highlights how unrealistic Lucas’ personality is by comparison. Here’s a man who has supposedly spent his formative years in complete isolation, with only his father for company, and yet his understanding of society and technology and the world at large seem to be pretty much entirely intact. Sure, he’s aggressive and apparently has never learned to swear, but on the whole he seems to know what’s going on around him far more than I would have expected from a character who is supposed to have been a forest hermit from age 9 and onward…I didn’t buy him as a character at all.
I think I would have enjoyed this novel much more if it had focused more on the past than on the repetitive and poorly executed escape attempts; Josiah and Jane were by far the most interesting and relatable characters in the novel but the reader only gets tidbits of their stories.
On the whole, this novel kept my interest but not in a way that felt satisfying. I couldn’t relate to either of the main characters, and the plot was too far-fetched for me to really immerse myself in the story. I’d be open to reading the author’s other works, because the plot was certainly interesting, but the execution was too over the top for me to feel invested.

Thank you NetGalley, Mindy Mejia and Simon & Schuster Canada for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Maya Stark is working as a speech therapist at a psychiatric facility when they receive Lucas Blackthorn, a boy who disappeared without a trace with his father ten years ago in the nearby forest. Lucas got caught robbing a store, but we don’t know why and growing up in the forest has left his social skills lacking. Maya is sent in to assess Lucas when he won’t speak to anyone and she bonds with him in a way she has never bonded with anyone else. Lucas’ father is no where to be found, and the authorities are out searching, will Maya be able to help them in finding out the truth?

I was hooked with the first few chapters with this one, it just grabbed me and it had my attention the entire way through. I really enjoyed the characters and how you don’t know a whole lot about Maya to start with and her character grows along side Lucas’. I loved the atmosphere of the novel and the pace with the action kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed reading this novel through Maya’s perspective since she isn’t a just regular staff member at the facility and she had a unique way of seeing things. But it was nice to have a few chapters scattered throughout the novel through Josiah’s past perspective. Mindy made the Boundary Waters so vivid to me and I could almost see myself along side the characters.

I also really enjoyed that each character had a different backstory and struggles because that’s the way that life is and it made the book more interesting. I found myself rooting for some of the characters even when they were doing something that they shouldn’t have been because they are so likeable. I liked the ending and I was shocked by the twists in the end and it was not what I expected at all. I enjoyed that everything was wrapped up for the most part, but it wasn’t a clean tidy ending like some books. This book was such a quick read and I would definitely recommend if you enjoy novels that are quick paced with flawed characters that you want to root for!

Pick it up September 4th!

Leave No Trace book review - no spoilers -
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I could tell straight away when I read the synopsis that this book was going to be a perfect fit for me. And I was right. This book was thrilling and had a firm grip on me from the get-go!
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Leave No Trace centres around Maya, a young woman with a heavy past working as a Speech Therapist in a psych hospital who is assigned to a cagey character recently brought in. This patient has a most interesting background because it turns out he's actually a child that went missing with his father 10 years ago. At 19 he has spent over half his life off the grid in an area called The Boundary Waters. When he was found in town he was violent, nonverbal and essentially wild. For some reason he instantly recognizes Maya though they've never met and he allows her to get closer than anyone else. And that's when things begin to twist.
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I really enjoyed how the characters were exposed throughout the novel. Peeling back the layers to understand why they are how they are and unveiling the hidden truths within. The descriptive prose brought the world to life. I honestly did not see the main twists coming and was delighted at how well the story came together.
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All in all this was a flawless read for me. I highly recommend it for fans of The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, On The Island by Tracy Garvis-Graves and Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult.
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Thank you @simonschusterca and #netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Amazing amazing story, amzing book, amazing author, I cannot say enough how much I liked this book. I wanted to never finish it. I loved the characters, I loved maya, lucas, everything. Read it, you will love it. It deserves a 5 stars.