Into the Jungle started slowly for me. I was not impressed with Lily and her attitude for the first half of the book. That changed, and I tore through the second half. I had to know how it ended. But, and this is a big but for me, I am really having trouble with the epilogue nine years later. Lily seems to be quite successful and calm in the epilogue. How did she get there? She was pretty much a mess throughout the entire book, except for the last little bit. I guess I am to believe that she suddenly was able to turn herself around and stay that way. Hmmm. Not working for me.

Into the Jungle is about a 19 year old women who's grown out of foster care and leaves her dismal life behind in search of adventure. She follows a new boyfriend to the Bolivian jungle so he can rejoin his tribe and hunt a jaguar that killed his nephew.
The story only gets wilder from there and it was nonstop thrills and action!

Our protagonist, Lily starts off into the jungle with her new boyfriend acknowledging that all her knowledge of the jungle comes from The Jungle Book, but she's ready for adventure and something new. Reading her introduction to the jungle and the way she slowly comes to understand it was a real treat! I felt like I was there, only better because no mosquitoes!
She's almost immediately abandoned as her boyfriend and some of his tribe set off to hunt and try to find the panther that killed his nephew. Trapped in what she calls her "heavenly prison" she discovers she's pregnant and also quite sick and in the midst of feeling isolated the tribe begrudgingly accepts her and Lily learns more about the jungle and herself than she expected.


"No need to manufacture my own
chaos like I did back home; it was all around me. I
was up against something I couldn't lie to or
manipulate, something I couldn't run away from;
the way I had survived my entire life.

Nothing like that worked here.

I had to pay attention; I had to adapt; I had to
stay."

This story was a true " throw me to the wolves and I'll come back leading the pack" type of story and I loved every page of it! The Jungle was described in such lush detail I found myself pausing in my reading to look for snakes and slap at non-existent bugs.
I loved the portrayal of the Christian missionaries "the Harriets" as real people who yes, would like to convert the inhabitants, but also work as the doctors and general translators for the tribe to the outside world. The river delivery man and guide For God's Sake made me laugh and cry and I would read a whole book on his explorations alone! Lily, however was my favorite character. I'm a sucker for a woman who takes no shit and pushes forward regardless of what life throws at her and Lily was the strong female protagonist I craved! She has her freaking baby in the jungle by herself for crying out loud!!
Into the Jungle was an excellent thriller adventure novel that actually made me gasp out loud and have to calm down with breathing exercises. Definitely one of the best books I've read this year so far!
If you like badass female protagonists, adventure, expressive writing and you want to vacation to the jungle, but hate bugs this is the book for you!

I was very excited to read "Into the Jungle" after having read Erica Ferencik's fantastic "The River at Night." The story of the main character, Lily Bushwold, starts off in what feels like a somewhat cliche backpacking abroad story set in Bolivia. After tiring of her traveling friends, and romantically connecting with Omar, a local man, she insistently accompanies him deep into the jungle on his quest to reconnect with his family after hearing that his young nephew is tragically killed. Although "Into the Jungle" was an entertaining read, and Ferencik's writing really effectively captured the nuances of some of our deepest emotions of fear and visceral physical attraction, the story was not the compelling page turner I expected. Lily is a younger protagonist than in the "River at Night" and in a story that seems to lack depth, her character feels underdeveloped, and not convincing as a young adult having emerged from foster care and group homes. .

I loved THE RIVER AT NIGHT, by this same author, so much that when I saw this on NetGalley I immediately requested it without even bothering to read the synopsis.

This book could be subtitled Everything You Never Thought You Wanted to Know About the Amazon Jungle. Talk about harsh living. I can't imagine I would last even a week in the conditions that Lily and Omar lived in.

Omar is a native Amazonian. Lily is an American who has recently aged out of the foster care system and is living in Bolivia, working in a hostel for room and board with two other young girls. She has a meet cute with Omar one night and falls in love. When tragedy strikes the small village of Ayachero, where Omar is from, Lily travels home him. She's not particularly welcomed by most of the villagers. Omar's mother in particular does not care for her at all.

From there we get an eye-opening look at daily life in the jungle, where a majority of a person's time is spent just surviving. The descriptions of the jungle and the myriad plants and creatures found there are evocative. Lily is an incredibly strong protagonist. Growing up in the foster care system hardened her, but Omar gets past all her defenses and sweeps her into a quick moving romance. You know it had to be true love if she's happy making a home in a remote village where the heat can be oppressive and the work is never ending. I very much liked both Lily and Omar. Told in first person POV, we get to know Lily very well. It's a great character study, with plenty of action thrown in. The secondary characters, seen through Lily's eyes, are also well written, from villagers to missionaries to evil poachers to an amusing river pilot named For God's Sake. They are all quite vivid.

And then along with all the hardships to overcome there's heart breaking tragedy. I can't imagine wanting to ever visit the Amazon, but I am quite interested in reading more about life there. I look forward to whatever Ms. Ferencik comes up with next!

Who would do this? is the first question I ask myself. Ok maybe a few but it is shocking to think a person would give up the easy life of bathrooms, beds, and move to the jungle with nothing. Not to mention the animals and danger in the jungle. I just could not wrap my mind around it. Sure if in love go ahead but think about it a little and give yourself a outlet in case you don't like the life you jumped into. Wow, nothing could lure me into that, no kinda Clark Gable or Robert Redford. LOL But a good read so go try it!

Into the Jungle falls into the rare and unfortunate category of books I really wanted to love, but just didn't. I thoroughly enjoyed Ferencik's last outing - a fun romp that transcended its beach read status by truly capturing the best elements of the genre. It was atmospheric, with strong characters to pull the reader through the narrative. I think Ferencik is still a very skilled writer but in this case, simply chased down the wrong story. Into the Jungle falls squarely into the romance category, and unfortunately lands in the subset of romance novels led by white women who find themselves in exotic places. I can understand her draw to this story from her notes preceding the novel. For this reader though, it felt too far flung from her own experiences, or from her skill set as a master of the eerie and mysterious. The novel felt bogged down by a romantic relationship that, I for one, was never rooting for and also by a fascination with Amazonian mysticism. I have no doubt that Ferencik did her homework here and I agree with her that it is a fascinating topic. Sadly though, that excitement didn't translate to the final story. I'm hopeful that her next work swings back toward her original structure and away from the trappings of a romance novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - the main characters, Lily and Omar, are captivating characters who must battle the inhabitants of the jungle in order to survive. The descriptions of the jungle are vivid and terrifying. The story moves along quickly and was enthralling from start to finish. 5 stars - don't miss it! I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could never see myself living in the jungle,even for love. Nevertheless,it is very romantic. Lily is a feisty girl who spent a great deal of her life in foster care; she knows how to survive. So many things happen in the Ayachero village. The jungle is being exploited by poachers. Hunting is more difficult. And yet,they survive!This is a story about love and conquering one’s fears. If you can survive here,you will be up to do most anything. Lily is astounding: she can do some astonishing things. Despite her fears,she confronts the jungle,hunting jaguars,fighting poachers,having a baby,all in nearly unbearable conditions. This author writes well. Her descriptions are vivid enough that I was in the jungle with the the tribe. I hopeErica writes more stories,and I would like to see Omar jr. return to his native home!

Into the Jungle is a fantastic book chronicling the experiences of an American teenager who finds her way to an Amazon jungle. It wasn't something she planned... but it changed her life, and those of the native people she met. The violence of life so far from what we call civilization is horrific, yet somehow it's more honest than the institutionalized violence we live with every day.
Like our heroine Lily, I want to do something good for the world. After reading this book, it's likely you will too.

I received a copy of Into the Jungle by Erica Ferencik from the publisher via #NetGallery [NetGalley URL] and am voluntarily posting an honest review.

I give this book 5 stars because it just captivated me from the minute Lily and Omar begin their trip into the Bolivian jungle. For love, Lily goes with Omar to live at his home village which is barely a subsistence camp of a few individuals. She is reduced to wearing a burlap dress she sews for herself while living as a primitive herself. She must battle Omar's family, jungle animals, a primitive tribe, shamans, a parasitic skin disease, and eventually, her own pregnancy!

The only thing that sustained her throughout is her love for Omar and an abiding belief in all the life lessons he taught her.

I enjoyed this book and learned a lot about the jungle of Bolivia. The author obviously did her research, so I found most of the experiences of the characters believable.I did have a problem with credibility towards the end. I do not want to interject any spoilers, so I will not be specific. In light of this ending, I am giving the book 3 stars instead of 4 stars. Thank you Netgalley and Gallery/Scott Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I had to wait a while after finishing this book before I could write a review, it was so moving!
Overwhelmingly real. Feel like I've been to the exotic and very dangerous Amazon jungle. My heart breaks for the indigenous tribes there.
Beautifully written with great sensitivity.

Ah the things you learn from reading… with Into the Jungle by Erica Ferencik I learned that a trip into the Bolivian jungle will never be put on my bucket list. I’m not one that has a fear of snakes or spiders but when things are bigger than you are and quite hungry I think I’ll go the other way.

Lily Bushwold is an American teenager that has only known the life of bouncing from one foster home to the next. Lily wants nothing more than to escape that kind of life having grown up living out of her backpack so when she hears of a job in Cochabamba, Bolivia she scraps all the cash she can and buys a plane ticket.

Unfortunately for Lily things aren’t much better in Bolivia when her job falls through. Finding a few other girls she goes back to her stealing ways living at the local hostel and wondering where her next meal will come from. The Lily meets Omar, this handsome local wins Lily’s heart and when he is packing up to head deep into the jungle to his remote village Lily decides to go with him.

Into the Jungle is one of those books that is the perfect read for those curious about other countries and like to travel there through the stories they read. Erica Ferencik brought the Bolivian jungle to life to keep the pages turning wondering what hazard would come Lily’s way next and would she survive them all. For somebody like myself used to a McDonald’s or Starbucks at every turn it was fun to read about Lily’s adventure but I sure don’t think I’d ever try it!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Just delightful. The imagery of the jungle is captivating and vivid - like you're there with Lily. Lily's story was one that I struggled to put down. Part love story, part drama - one complete adventure. I cannot recommend this enough. If you like suspenseful reads, jungle imagery and/or unique romance stories, you need this book.

I enjoyed this novel, although I was quite surprised at how different it was than the authors previous novel. I expected suspense. What I got instead was a bit more literary and slow. Not bad things, but very surprising indeed. I was engaged the whole way through, but did find parts to be quite slow.

I found the beginning of this story especially engaging. We meet Lily, an American former foster child who's living in South America at a hostel when she meets Omar, a handsome local. Lily is swept off her feet by Omar and when he discovers that he has to return to his village in a remote part of the Amazonian jungle, Lily agrees to go with him, pretending they are married. Omar must go help his family hunt a jaguar that has killed his brother's young son. The level of detail in the writing was excellent. The author has clearly done her research and I was fascinated and often dismayed at life in the jungle. Lily isn't welcomed there of course and soon finds out that it's not at all what she thought it would be. The story seems to be an exploration of these characters, part coming of age part adventure tale. I was unprepared for the number of scenes involving animals being killed for food, hunting, sport etc. It was honestly too much for me and caused me to somewhat dislike the story. I expected much more in terms 0f thrills, it seemed at times to be a lot of day to day survival info. towards the end, there is a scene that just really challenged my ability to keep suspending disbelief. It got quite far fetched for my reading taste. The very best part of the book for me was the author's ability to write such excellent descriptions of the jungle, it's people, animals, and river all came to life.