Longer review to come.

This book had an interesting plot and an interesting backstory, but the way it was interwoven together was long and drawn out and I think could have been better served in a different format. This would have been a 3 star read, except for the fact that the lesbian representation, and many of the things the book endorsed with regard to the lesbian representation, made me so viscerally uncomfortable it wasn't even funny. In particular, the emphasis that not coming out made someone a coward, the lack of understanding that the book as a whole took towards people who cannot come out, and then the forced outing of Holly at the end of the book has lost it a star. I felt that the lesbian representation was overall unrealistic and the scenes where Lee discussed her lesbianism felt forced. (context: I am a gay woman)

The Barrens: A Novel of Love and Death in the Canadian Arctic by Kurt Johnson and Ellie Johnson is exactly what it says on the tin: a heartbreaking novel about a young queer woman, Lee, who endures tragedy and peril while on a canoeing expedition in the Canadian Artic. Lee and her partner, Holly, decided to spend their college summer break canoeing down the Theon river, a trip Holly had taken before in the years prior. The trip was already expected to be taxing, as Holly and Lee would experience a lack of many amenities and luxuries, isolation, wildlife, rapids, and other features of a several-week trek through the barren Canadian wilderness. However, Lee's situation soon became dire when Holly tragically fell into a ravine. Lee quickly had to adapt to Holly's death and to a land she had never visited before. Intercut with the story of Lee's survival is the story of her past, how she was raised by a demanding eco-anarchist father, how she developed her young queer identity in the Midwest, and how she and Holly began their relationship in college.

Though most of the content of the novel is divulged in the subtitle and book description, the exact breakdown of events is still thrilling, horrific, and page-turning. I raced through this novel, enjoying how Lee's story divulged and feeling her every heartbreak acutely. Not once was I taken out of the story, and I do not have a single critique of the novel.

This novel is also a fascinating collaboration between father and daughter. Kurt Johnson is, I assume, the author of the majority of the words penned in this book, however Ellie receives equal billing. She provided the inspiration and research for much of the content of the novel, as she, like Lee and Holly, is a queer woman who took the canoeing trip herself a few years ago. Ellie's experience and Kurt's prose make for an extremely vivid, realistic, and unique work of art.

Thank you, Arcade Publishing and NetGalley, for providing this early release copy in exchange for my review.

The unique premise of this book really drew me in. I was very curious how a one person story was going to unfold in a way to keep me interested, but boy did it ever. I kept putting myself in Lee's shoes (though I would never go on that kind of excursion). The wonderful writing really made me feel all these emotions and feelings through Lee. I absolutely loved the flashbacks to really keep the pace of this book interesting. Overall a great read!

The Barrens is a devastatingly beautiful LGBTQ adventure story. It tells the story of a college-aged couple canoeing through the Canadian arctic on their summer break. I really enjoyed the rugged setting that provided a wild and ever-changing backdrop to a heartbreaking story of love and loss. The characters have a lot of depth and nuance to them that makes them come to life on the page. The unique combination of being a queer coming of age story as well as a daring adventure makes The Barrens an unforgettable read.

This coming of age novel was lonely but moving. I wish I knew more about Holly, but I learned to love Lee. I appreciated the format. The fall wasn’t the climax of the book, the story is about Lee’s growth…not Holly’s death.

I was really excited for this book as despite being quite intimidated by the prospect of it, I feel like I would absolutely love going on such an adventure through the remote wilderness of the Canadian Arctic - minus the death of a loved one, obviously. What I was looking for was an immersive, emotional story - and until I did read the book I wasn’t aware that I wanted it to be in chronological order. I guess what I had hoped for was lots of descriptions of the nature surrounding Lee and Holly and a natural flow of their relationship up until the accident, as opposed to having the accident in the very first chapter and then going back to explain how they both ended up there. Naturally, after the accident Lee is completely focused on first keeping Holly alive and then making it out of the Barrens with her body. There are lots of descriptions but they did leave me wanting for more.

What I also had not expected but came to enjoy were the stories about Lee’s life growing up. I’m still not sure how to feel about Jake, because on one hand he was a horrible father, but on the other he did do what’s right whenever it really mattered. Anyway, I felt like I got to know the Lee of the past extremely well, but never really got a feeling for what the Lee of the present is like, or how the accident and its aftermath changed her. It’s only ever alluded to but I would have liked for there to be more deep thoughts about her life and her future.

Similarly to Lee, I never felt like I actually knew any of the characters that made an appearance, or if at all then only their characters in the past. It did make me feel a bit distanced from the plot.

As for the plot itself, as I said I wasn’t expecting the order in which the story was written and would have liked for it to be chronological, but after the accident everything happened really quickly and I couldn’t put the book down. I felt like I was sitting behind Lee in the canoe and lying next to her in the tent throughout the whole book. I never felt bored or like the plot became repetitive (although the actions in themselves obviously were fairly repetitive) and the book was really well written.

I also really liked the ending, when Lee did finally make it out of the Barrens and had to talk about everything that happened to Holly’s parents, and the way they treated her. I would not have needed the very last coffee shop scene, however.

I honestly expected more of an exciting story of love, loss and survival from this book judging by the premise, but for the majority of time it felt like a monotonous diary-like tale.

Everything is told from Lee's point of view so we get very little insight on Holly's own perspective and thoughts. We don't really get any background on their relationship. How they formed an emotional connection, what attracted them to each other in the first place, what made them trust each other, what made Holly, being the more experienced one, go on such a long and ambitious journey underprepared and with someone who had zero experience, what made Lee overcome her fear from the fast streams and how did she eventually turn into a "whitewater junkie"? Those were some of the questions that I didn't get answers to and as a result didn't connect with any of the characters.

The writing style is simplistic, with a lot of telling and not enough showing, the dialogue between the two main characters is mostly nonexistent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse publishing for giving me access to this book.

The book follows Lee and Holly as they make a white-water rafting trip across the Artic Wilderness. Until things take a dark turn and Lee is stuck with an injured Holly and another body. During all this, the book shares flashbacks that include Lee's upbringing.

I have never understood the appeal of a 30+ day trip that includes dragging yourself, a canoe, supplies, through all kinds of weather and environs. But it sure does create an interesting story! And kudos to the people who have or plan to take this kind of trip. I found this to be an interesting, entertaining, compelling survival story. The writing is vivid, that brought the story to life and helped me stay hooked.

If you like: family drama, love story, adventure, survival thrillers, and coming of age stories I think this book is for you.

Looks like I’m the first person to rate and review this book and in this instance I’m glad to do so, because I enjoyed this novel and think it deserves an audience.
Interestingly enough, this is a father/daughter collaboration about (among other things) a pretty unconventional father/daughter relationship. The other things are, specifically, a death-defying white water rafting trip through the Artic wilderness…with a body in tow. Because just dragging yourself, a canoe, and a ton of supplies through the inclement weather and hostile environs apparently wasn’t enough. I seriously don’t get the appeal of these sorts of adventures, but then again it makes them all the more interesting for me to read about.
So, meet Lee, our protagonist, inspired in her adventurous spirit and her sexuality by the daughter side of this author combo. Lee gets dragged on this crazy adventure by her girlfriend - their relationship is just new enough that a lot of madness can pass for a good idea. The girlfriend drops off in the most modern of ways – taking a selfie – and Lee is then stuck with first a severely injured person and then a body. In a fit of inspiring dedication, she decides to bring the body back and so she drags it along. Lee’s supplies and spirits are getting precipitously low, but her inner strength preservers and on she goes.
Meanwhile, through flashback style stories told to stay sane, we learn of Lee’s most unusual upbringing by her off-grid fanatic father. Those stories always interest me, think Leave No Trace in movies, but with a much less likeable/sympathetic father figure. Still, it’s nuanced, complex and compelling. It’s also something Lee survives, much like she is determined to survive this wild trip, so in many ways this is a survival story and a good one at that.
The writing is very vivid, it brings the story to life in all of its privations and quiet and dangerous beauty of nature. The book really doesn’t need the subtitle (and I don’t like those), it speaks for itself. It’s engaging, exciting and entertaining, all the things you’d want in a book. Well done, Johnson family. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.