Valley Girls by Sarah Nicole Lemon

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

The amount of wilderness-related books I've read over the last few months is astounding, but they've all been fantastic! Valley Girls by Sarah Nicole Lemon did not disappoint. I was lucky enough to meet her at NoVa TEEN Book Festival, and she was so sweet in person! 

This story follows Priscilla "Rilla" Skidmore, a rebel teen sent off to live in Yosimite National Park with her park ranger sister Thea to try to straighten her life out. Once there, she bonds with a group of climbers who help her assimilate into Yosimite life. Rilla falls in love with climbing and makes it her personal mission to climb a famous route in Yosimite called The Nose, to prove to both herself and everyone else that she is more than just a nobody from West Virginia.

I adored Rilla as a character and related to her on so many levels, the biggest of which was her uncertainty. She really wanted to be a climber, but she was scared and lacked confidence in herself, even after she had proven that she could do it. She kept comparing herself to seasoned climbers even though she was doing a fantastic job for a "gumby." Seeing her come into her own through climbing left me feeling proud of her even though she had some moral tumbles along the way. I loved the side characters as well, like Walker, Petra, and Caroline, and thought they all brought something unique to the story.

Not a lot actually happened in this book, but for me that was fine. It was more a telling of Rilla's personal journey than a rough and tumble adventure tale, and the few intense scenes ended quickly and without any real trouble. I liked that there was a climbing glossary in the back, in case any terms weren't explained well enough in the story (which for the most part, they were). I do think there were some loose ends that didn't get wrapped up, and I was left with a few unanswered questions. Overall this was an enjoyable, inspiring read that made me want to get outside more and test my own physical and emotional boundaries.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Amulet Books for an advanced copy of this inspiring read! Valley Girls by Sarah Nicole Lemon releases tomorrow, May 8th, so be sure to pick up a copy!