This is truly a coming of age story among a group of friends who have planned a hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. All of the friends are kind of in different places in their lives and journeys as they navigate the trail. There were a lot of heavier and valid topics that are very current, but at some points some of this felt a little more in your face than it should have been, perhaps a little too intense. With most of the characters you can feel their struggle and it feels very authentic, but some don't feel as fully fledged or connect as well. Still, this was a great coming of age novel that I think a lot of people will connect with.

Emotions slice and stab in a tale not only about forgiving others but learning to find ones' own place in the mess called life.

Molly was excited about the graduation trip, but after the accident, which left her brother injured and pushed him behind schedule, she's bordering on bitter. He could have come along but refused, since he hasn't graduated yet. So, she's stuck with their best friend Tray, who she can't help but blame for letting her brother get injured in the first place. To make things worse, her parents expect Tray to watch out for her—insulting and irritating. Somehow, she'll have to force herself to make it through the trip without letting her anger explode. But there is more coming her way than she thought.

The writing in these pages flows extremely well. The characters come across with tons of personality and a raw naturalness, which makes it easy to read and sink into. There are tons of emotions at play, and this slides in nicely with the age group. Some are understandable, while others are over-the-top. All have things they are bottling up, and each believes they can handle everything themselves, despite knowing that they truly can't. The back-and-forths carry snark edged with hints of naked truth, which hits with a personal note for readers to connect with.

An entire kettle full of problems and baggage stew in these pages, and many of the themes fit well with the audience. The first pages head right into this turmoil as Molly prepares for her graduation and trip, and that with a begrudging attitude carrying bite. Her anger is clear, and it hits everyone around her. The reader, however, remains in the dark concerning most of the reason until later in the novel...which does build tension and hold curiosity but isn't quite my thing. This brewing negativity clings to Molly like a second skin, and while she forces herself to be pleasant and deal with things, it makes her hard to like, at times. The other characters harbor their own issues to add to a thick weave of subplots and keep the tale intriguing. It mishes together to create a rich, emotional read, which hits upon more than a few social issues and personal battles on the path to finding balance.

A queer coming of age summer hiking story featuring a group of mixed race Indigenous teens who have planned a trip to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. This had great fat and disability rep and was full of a relatable cast of authentic characters. Good on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Cherie Dimaline, David Robertson or Christine Day. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Some books set up camp in your mind. With their memorable characters, the thought-provoking plot, the gorgeous setting descriptions, and intricate relationships. And though they’re responsible characters, they don’t leave no trace. They take root in your heart, become residents. So that no matter how long you go between visits (or reads, in this case) they are as familiar as home.
That is what Jen Ferguson's new release, A Constellation of Minor Bears, has done with me.
Each character is a star in a bright, shining constellation, twinkling in their own way. And like Encanto taught us, "the stars don’t shine, they burn; Constellations shift." And there is beauty in that change.
This multi-POV narrated YA novel dives deep into friendship, first love, healing versus recovery, disability access, fatphobia. Each of these threads is woven to create a full picture, as intersectional as our lived world. The discussion on healing versus recovery is one I will be thinking on for a long time. The way this world, with its poorly constructed systems, tries to limit the ways in which certain people live—people of color, Indigenous people, disabled people, fat people— is especially well represented, with both bluntness and tenderness.
And yet there’s still joy. Laughter. Chips and salsa and long showers and breathtaking views. Shifting foundations and new hurdles to overcome. Joy and sadness, tangled up together- the beauty and sadness of growth. Sibling relationships, friendship with love-filled eyes, new relationships, old ones, all walking alongside one another, supporting one another yet holding each accountable as well.
Jen Ferguson takes special care with her readers. This is apparent in each novel, in her author's notes, in her acknowledgements. There is such intentionality in every word. This novel is an engrossing, heart-filling read—an adventure you'll want to return to again and again.
Special thanks to the author, Heartdrum/HarperCollins Children's, and NetGalley for a digital ARC such that I could share my honest opinion.
A Constellation of Minor Bears is available now.

Content warnings: fat abuse, fat phobia, ableism, anti Indigenous racism

I love Jen Ferguson’s books !! This one explores identity, has a focus on friendships and shows the importance of standing up for yourself. Each character engages and perceives the traumatic experience Hank has endured in different ways. Molly has a lot of anger at Tray and herself throughout the book and there are moments where she must confront these feelings. The Reddit sections were interesting to read because those were the times we get to see Hank truly express his feelings about his disability and the way people around him treat him.

Brynn is a character that starts to realize what her reality is isn’t something she should accept and she starts to fight for her rights. It was tough to read about as her parents are abusive. I love the friendships between each of the characters and how a found family was formed.

I love a friends to lovers story and this has so many sweet moments between Molly and Tray especially towards the end. There are times when I wanted them to communicate better because I could see both characters were hurting but I loved that by the end they started to realize that they truly loved each other. Overall the found family and love these characters experience were some of the sweetest moments.

Thank you @FrenzyBooks and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

A Constellation of Minor Bears is one of those books that will speak in some way to whomever reads it. Author Jen Ferguson tackles topics ranging from racism and body image to parental expectations and differing kinds of love.

The story unfolds from Molly and Traylor’s first-person accounts and Hank’s AITA (Am I The Asshole?) posts. These three unique voices are very personal, raw and real. These are well-developed main characters that are dealing with real-life implications. Their individual struggles with what they want for themselves and their friends makes for a compelling read.

Author Jen Ferguson has crafted a novel that ebbs and flows like the Pacific Crest Trail. She captures nature’s rugged beauty, making you feel like you are right on the trail next to Molly, Traylor and Hank.

A Constellation of Minor Bears isn’t a particularly fast-moving novel, but it’s one you want to stick with. It’s a story of self-discovery and connection that will resonate with many readers.

THOUGHTS

I adored this book! I didn't know it was what I needed this year, but it absolutely is. It is grounded and lovely, a buffer against the hard realities it reckons with. It's a beautiful coming-of-age story.


PROS
Hard Trekking: Jen Ferguson doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to presenting the actual challenges of doing a through-hike this like. It's hard to be on the trail, to walk that much and over such difficult terrain. It's hard, too, to keep yourself alive. Finding water in these mountains isn't a sure thing. Bruised toes and damaged muscles from the hike are inevitable. And menstrual cycles don't stop just because you're hiking. This is hard trekking, and even if it is a profound accomplishment to reach the end (wherever that end might be), it gifts scrapes and scars along the way.

(Re)Found Family : There is a quote somewhere in this book that I neglected to jot down in full, though I captured the sentiment: relationships are about trying every day. And that's the conflict at the center of this book. These friends are close, and grief has driven them apart. They're reckoning with who they are in the aftermath and how they fit back together. This book feels very found-family in the way these friends come back together, bond again in new ways, and also how they collect new people along the trail. It is a book full of profound little intimacies and the struggle to keep friends together, to grow and change alongside each other--to make room for who and what they each might become.

Moving On: This book contains a really nuanced conversation about grief, specifically grief for a future that will never happen. I think that kind of nuanced conversation is very important for a lot of people, especially younger people, in a post-2020 world, where what can be and is possible has shifted so profoundly. A lot of dreams and goals have had to change in new, unprecedented ways. Molly feels guilt and grief for what happened, what could have happened, and she feels guilty for feeling these feelings, too. Because she hasn't lost her brother. Because her brother is still here, but different. And her own future is still in front of her, but maybe she doesn't want to move on unchanged. She's grieving the memories she thought they would make, the plans they had together, and a future she doesn't know if she wants anymore.


CONS
Old Souls: These characters are all very young, just on the verge of adulthood, and yet the way they reckon with the world and their complex feelings feels very... old. Which I think makes for profoundly beautiful writing, but at the same time, I'm not sure it really fits characters so young. I wouldn't want it any other way, but this still proves a bit of a knock against the realism of this book.


Seriously Anxious: It's been a long time since I've felt so much anxiety reading a book, and I don't think that was the author's intention here. Maybe it's just because I know the type of trouble adults can get into with the scenario that unfold and it is the type of trouble new adults (18, 19) might not recognize they're stumbling into because they still see a 15- or 16-year-old as a peer and not a minor. Getting involved with a runaway minor with vindictive parents, especially in a foreign country, isn't really something you want to do. And while there's a happy ending here, it felt a little... too happy. Things don't usually work out so well, especially in a country as lawsuit-happy as the USA--and a country that has such a bad child advocacy system, too.


Really? Still? Again?: There are a lot of confusing feelings between Molly and Traylor--are they just friends or are they something more? Could they be something more? Do they want to be something more? Molly and Traylor dance around these feelings the whole book, and that's a bit frustrating. Especially after scenes where it feels like something significant has changed, like they've talked through a particular roadblock, only for them to end up back where they were before they talked in just a few pages. I kept thinking we had moved on, or we could start to move on, and then that absolutely wasn't the case. We kept having to rehash things, and that was frustrating. Realistic, perhaps. But frustrating.



Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
9/10
Fans of J.C. Peterson's Lola at Last will love this new wilderness trek of self-discovery. Those who adored getting lost in Cassandra Hartt's The Sea is Salt and So am I will love reckoning with tough questions in this new Bildungsroman.

A Constellation of Minor Bears navigates grief, anger, and forgiveness. It's a story about love. About friends which used to know each and every glance, but now feel like strangers in familiar clothes. It's about family which supports us, turns on us, and changes. Dual POV, A Constellation of Minor Bears is heartfelt from head to toe. Beginning with Hank's accident, Tray and Molly both have their own trauma and experiences to deal with whether that be the family struggling to pick up pieces, or the best friend who saw it happen.

*Chi Miigwetch, Thank you to NetGalley and Heartdrum for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

This is my third Jen Ferguson read who always delivers on queer Native representation and this book is no different. Most of the main characters are queer and our two main-main characters, Traylor and Molly, are both Métis teenagers. The representation is highlighted in a way that does best suit a YA audience. There is explanation into some Indigenous issues and queer issues that might not be fully understood for younger or more sheltered audiences which is really beneficial to the story and understanding these characters.

This book also tackles fatphobia and ableism that comes from a traumatic injury as well as all the ways they can manifest and impact different people. I loved that contrast because even people who face similar issues will experience them differently and there is no holding back that messaging in this novel. They are also extremely important topics, again, for a younger or more sheltered audience because it poses a lot of questions and lays out how those differences manifest in ways they might not have previously considered. I personally enjoyed how Jen tackles the way a disabling event for one person can also impact the people who love them. While keeping in focus the importance of listening to the needs of that specific person above all. Whether that be more or less care and how they are still their own person even if some things have changed.

As for the rest of the story, I didn’t rate higher because I do wish some aspects were a little more subtle and not repeated constantly. Native storytelling often has a lot of repetition that is beneficial, and I do see that here in this book, but there are parts that just got a little frustrating and I think it is because what is repeated so often is a heavy subject. There is a huge emphasis on what happened with Hank, Molly’s brother, and how she is dealing with it and it is stated over and over and over and over through the whole novel. Start to finish. I think this could have been done without spelling it outright again and again when they are having these conversations or interacting. It personally did not work for me but I do think that is an area that is subjective. This is a heartfelt, heavy story and I think not holding back punches will serve this novel well.

Overall, I do think that although this is YA, it would work for a mature middle grade audience too. There is a lot of crossover here with different age ranges that I think it could be suitable for and that in itself is good storytelling.

I am officially hooked on Jen Ferguson’s writing. This is the third book I have read of hers and I am already anxious to get my hands on another one! The writing weaves a beautiful story that is both engrossing and impactful. Molly, her brother, Hank, and their best friend, Tray were inseparable until a traumatic accident came between them all. Molly is mad it happened and can’t help but blame Tray and even herself. Now their senior hiking trip they’ve been planning together isn’t going to be the same and Hank can’t even go at all as a result of his brain injury. Setting out on the Pacific Crest Trail together, Molly falls into easy anger with Tray who is extremely understanding in his care for her. This book shines a light on the unfairness of the world, including racism against Natives nations, and trying to grapple with the aftermath. I laughed and cried my way through the themes of love, hurt, guilt, forgiveness, weight, family, and friends. I highly recommend doing yourself a favor and reading this book. Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books | Heartdrum for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Remember the craze of Cheryl Strayed’s book Wild a decade ago? I avoided the book, movie, and phenomenon that ensued (even the “Gilmore Girls” Netflix reboot did a bit on it!) because it all felt like a cliche: a woman of privilege pays money to briefly live like an unhoused person in order to reach a more enlightened self. When I came across A Constellation of Minor Bears and realized this was also a story of journeying along the Pacific Crest Trail to prove something to oneself, I groaned. I’m thrilled to admit that Jen Ferguson took me by surprise!

Written from the perspective of three main characters, the novel follows recent highschool graduate Molly’s expedition with childhood friend Tray while Molly’s brother – who was supposed to join the duo – recovers from a climbing accident back home in Canada.

Molly blames Tray for this accident, and her journey toward forgiveness plays out between the mishaps of life on the trail. I found each character incredibly relatable. I saw myself most in Molly (an Indigenous, overweight, and self-conscious teenager incredibly loyal to her family) and her brother Hank (a newly-disabled young adult with memory loss relying on social media for camaraderie).

Ultimately, Ferguson’s novel is a story of connection not only to oneself, but to each other. This tale could have easily been a self-flagellating trek for inner peace, but it is far from it! The author found a way to blend the intersections of our identities, community, and the mysticism of the Pacific Crest Trail into a young adult novel that is both moving and compelling.

A Constellation of Minor Bears will be available on September 24, 2024. Hayu masi to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy.

One of Jen Ferguson's strengths as an author is her depiction of community: the connections they offer, the way(s) they can root us, the importance to thinking beyond ourselves and how we contribute (or not) to our communities. Given that her newest novel A CONSTELLATION OF MINOR BEARS focuses on three teenagers and a postgraduation hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, it seemed like community may not play a central role--but it does. There are the communities Tray and Molly are connected to; the community along the trail (from fellow hikers to people who offer support along the way); to the community they form as they make their way to their chosen destinations. For fans of Ferguson, she offers some great glimpses and/or sly references to characters and places in her earlier novels.

The challenges facing Molly, Tray, and Hank are nuanced to each character and further complicated by their relationships with each other. Molly is understandably shaken by her bother Hank's accident and her feelings about Tray being at the site where Hank was injured. Tray's love for Molly and Hank--such deep love that he made decisions based on his friendship(s) with the siblings--both motivates and holds him back, especially when it comes to his life choices and his connection with his Indigenous community.

As these entanglements put their hike on the rocks (sometimes literally) the depth of their individual and joint pains are revealed, though not necessarily all healed. Ferguson brilliantly ties the characters' internal struggles with their external challenges along the Pacific Crest Trail. I look forward to using A CONSTELLATION OF MINOR BEARS with my creative writing students who are tackling novels this year. They're going to learn so much from this book and its author.

Another home run from contemporary literary Jen Ferguson.

A Constellation of Minor Bears is full of heart and fear in the best way. It's a true finding yourself story, and a great example of doing the hard thing and growing from it.

As always the Metis rep is lovely and poignant. I am thankful I got to read this story!

I loved this book! While the characters have challenges, I didn't feel that they were so complex (or traumatizing) that teachers would struggle to competently use this book in their learning environments. I also appreciated the breadth of concepts covered - being gay, microaggressions, imposter syndrome, feeling disconnected from one's culture, ableism - plenty of good conversations to have with students, all with a good storyline about kids trying to figure out who they want to be.