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Exit, Pursued by a Bear
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Exit, Pursued by a Bear
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Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Audiobook6 hours

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Written by E.K. Johnston

Narrated by Jorjeana Marie

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

From #1 New York Times bestselling author E.K. Johnston, comes a brave and unforgettable story that will inspire listeners to rethink how we treat survivors.

Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, this doesn't mean what you think it means. At PHHS, the cheerleaders don't cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team-the pride and joy of a small town. The team's summer training camp is Hermione's last and marks the beginning of the end of…she's not sure what. She does know this season could make her a legend. But during a camp party, someone slips something in her drink. And it all goes black.

In every class, there's a star cheerleader and a pariah pregnant girl. They're never supposed to be the same person. Hermione struggles to regain the control she's always had and faces a wrenching decision about how to move on. The rape wasn't the beginning of Hermione Winter's story and she's not going to let it be the end. She won't be anyone's cautionary tale.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 15, 2016
ISBN9780399566035
Unavailable
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Author

E.K. Johnston

The cool things about Emily Kate Johnston are that she is a forensic archaeologist, she has lived on four continents, she decorates cupcakes in her spare time, she adores the Oxford comma, and she loves to make up stories. The less cool things about Kate are that she's from a small town in southwestern Ontario, she spends a lot of time crying over books in random coffee shops, and she can't play as many musical instruments as she wishes she could. The Story of Owen is Kate's first novel. Visit her online at ekjohnston.ca.

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Reviews for Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Rating: 3.9965035559440563 out of 5 stars
4/5

143 ratings25 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is an incredibly sensitive look at rape survival. There's nothing graphic portrayed in it in terms of violence, but rather it focuses on her recovery, on her learning how to reclaim her life after an assault. Along the way, it addresses the topics of victim-blaming and stereotyping, but not in a heavy-handed way. It talks about these things gently and naturally. It shows a possible path to healing and what it means to support the ones you love. I'm grateful that this book available to the teenagers of today. Reading this could not only make a difference in the life of someone who has experienced assault themselves, but it could also teach someone how to support a person who has been a victim. And most of all, it shows that life does come back to you, that there is hope, that you can be you again. I would love to see this as required reading for teenagers.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The author took a far too common crime and presented it in such a way that says, "never give up, never back down." The main character has such a strong support system and I only wish there had been more development of how she came to realize support was right in front of her all along.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book when I started. It was a quick read and I really enjoyed it. Serious triggers in it, but they were addressed very well in my opinion. Everyone needs a Polly in their life. 4 ⭐️
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The author took a far too common crime and presented it in such a way that says, "never give up, never back down." The main character has such a strong support system and I only wish there had been more development of how she came to realize support was right in front of her all along.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Here is one of many things I love about E K Johnston: she writes about the strength of young women and their friendships, and she writes about it so well.

    This is a book about rape -- and the slut-shaming and victim-blaming that unfortunately follow along. But it's also a surprisingly uplifting story about strength and the power of good people in a person's life. (It also manages to do this without getting sappy, which is quite something because I feel like I can't even describe this book without getting sappy.)

    Raw, wonderfully-written and a loose Shakespeare retelling... Honestly, I love everything about this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hermione Winters knows that her life is going to change. It's the summer before her last year of high school, and the beginning of her last ever cheerleading camp. Cheerleading is everything to her and her best friend Polly - spirit, friendship, trust, adrenaline - but this will be the last year. She expects that. What she doesn't expect is drugs in her drink at the end-of-camp dance, and a boy leading her outside, and waking up the next day in the hospital. Now she'll spend her last year of high school waiting - waiting to see if she's pregnant, waiting for DNA tests to come back, waiting for people to treat her normally again, waiting to feel normal again.For a book about such serious problems, it's actually pretty positive. It's much more focused on friendship than romance. Hermione has a good relationship with her family and supportive friends, so this isn't the most realistic story. But this isn't really a cautionary tale or melodrama, it's a story about the process of recovery and friendship. It's very emotional but quite cathartic and I liked the characters and enjoyed reading it. The book is specifically Canadian and I spent a lot of time Googling locations, but I enjoy that kind of thing so I didn't mind at all. Highly recommended if you're looking for a positive book about rape recovery, or if you like YA friendship.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hermione, captain of her school's cheerleading team, is excited about the beginning of her upcoming senior year. Prior to the beginning of school, she, along with her team, attends cheerleading camp (as she does every year) but while there, the unthinkable occurs. Someone slips something into her drink and she awakens to find that she has been the victim of sexual assault. But because of the drug, she has virtually no memory of anything that happened.On the surface, this sounds like a run-of-the-mill YA story with a side plot of sexual assault thrown in. While teen rape should not of course be taken lightly, it's a story that's been done before. However. This book had been on my radar after reading some really good reviews and I had it added to my wishlist without even really paying much attention to the book description. It recently made it to the top of my reading queue and then I wasn't sure if it was actually going to hold my attention. But it did.It may seem odd to describe a book with such disturbing subject matter refreshing, but that's what comes to mind after having finished this. I enjoyed it a lot. Hermione is portrayed not as your typical rape victim who becomes consumed by her situation, but one who has grit and is determined to move beyond and not be defined by what happened to her. While some readers may be put off by this, as I said above, I found it refreshing to read about a character who takes it the other way and becomes a role model, determined to get her life back in order. Despite a plot description and title that may not grab a reader right off, I thought this was a very well written story, appealing not to just younger readers but older adults as well, and I'm sure my review has not done it justice. If possible, read this one on audio. The reader (Jorjeana Marie) is fantastic. This is probably one of my favorites so far this year. Recommend!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I listened to this book about a Canadian cheerleader who wants to win nationals with her team. The summer before her senior year, she attends cheer camp where she is assaulted by, presumably, a fellow camper. This event could have the power to change the trajectory of her senior year. Johnston did a great job setting up Hermione's character and her relationships prior to camp, so I wanted to know how they would all change as the story progresses. I liked how frank the conversations were about rape, how honest Hermione's reactions were to not only her own challenges but also those secrets her friends revealed. Finally, it was refreshing to have a young adult book portray competitive cheerleading with such a confident, well-respected protagonist. And what a great title! I kept thinking about it throughout the story, as its significance could apply to various scenes.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is one of those books I started at one in the morning and didn't put down until I was finished. I've been trying to think of how to review this book today, but I'm at a loss. It's such a well-written, descriptive, and emotional book. At times the story was shocking, especially with the dis-connect the main character feels throughout the novel. But for the first time, I read a book that was written about a sexual assault and there were supportive characters everywhere. The Reverend at her church, the police officer, Polly!, they all blew me away. I think that one day I'll be able to fully comprehend and internalize this book and write a proper review, but until then, this will suffice.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    E.K. Johnston tackles a tough topic in this book and does it beautifully. Cheerleading is a big deal at Hermione Winters' high school. She is co-captain of the cheer squad alongside her best friend Polly. At cheer camp, Hermione has a lot on her mind. She needs to keep her squad united, on the ball, and ready to compete. The farthest thought from her mind is the fact that one of the people she's been swimming and dining with at camp will assault her.Part forensic mystery, part social commentary, Exit, Pursued by a Bear follows the aftermath of the tragedy that befalls Hermione. It tackles not only what she goes through, but what her friends, family, and those who are trying to help her go through as well. Take all the stress of senior year: picking out colleges, final cheer competitions, boyfriends, best friends...and add trauma. Yikes!I recommend this book to readers in grades 9-12. It does have some heavy content, including the topic of abortion. Laurie Halse Anderson and Thirteen Reasons Why fans will enjoy. -EC
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Hermione Winters is looking forward to her senior year, especially since she and her best friend are co-captains of the cheerleading squad. But then, just before the beginning of the school year, the unthinkable happens: Hermione is raped at cheer camp. Over the course of the year, Hermione must face many difficult things as a result of the attack. Fortunately, her parents and best friend are supportive, but some other people in her life are not.This is a great, thought-provoking read. The subject matter is difficult, but not presented in graphic detail. The writing and characterization are strong. Recommended.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is an interesting look at cheerleading as an athletic endeavor, teenage friendships and what happened when a popular girl, Hermione, is drugged, then raped while at their yearly cheerleading camp. Fortunately for Hermione, her family, friends, teachers and coach stand behind her throughout her senior year in school where she also competed in her last national cheerleading championships. Everyone also stood beside her as she made the difficult decision to have an abortion when it was determined that the rape resulted in a pregnancy. While everything turned out almost perfectly for her, even to the point where she recognized her rapist at the national championships, it is not always like that in real life. While it was well written, it was almost too good to be true.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'm probably going to be in the minority here, but I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I found Hermione too "together" for lack of a better word - the author tells us that she can't sleep/stares at the ceiling but doesn't show us anything other than Hermione conquering challenge after challenge. It was so unbelievable that not only would Hermione find a psychiatrist right away in small town Ontario (when most of us have to wait six months or more) but she finds one that will come to her house!?! Insane.

    And what was up with the interaction with the church pastor? Again, Johnston tells us previously that Hermione attends church with her father but we never see her at a service or explore what role spirituality has in her life. The one conversation between Hermione and Pastor Rob seemed phony. All Hermione's interactions with adults (the interview with a reporter was the lone exception) showed how awesome adults were. Maybe we need a book that shows teenagers and young adults that reporting an assault can be a positive step in healing... but how realistic is it?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Trigger warning: rape, victim blaming, slut shaming.Summer before senior year is supposed to be a happy memory but for Hermione Winters it will be a shadow that follows her for the rest of her life. Finally elected cheer co-captain with her bestie Paulie, they were going to have the best cheer camp experience ever. It was fun until the camp farewell dance where she took a drink from the wrong person and found herself in the hospital when she woke up. Hermoine lives a small town, the people talk, no one keeps a secret for too long. How she deals with the aftermath of her attack is a powerful message for anyone, victim or not. Now this should be required reading.I loved how the attack was the silent lurker in the background of the story. It's so easy to make a story one whole political statement about rape/rape culture/the immorality of victim blaming but this one treaded the waters carefully. In few words I would say this is the story of empowerment, a girl coming to terms with what happened to her and gaining back control of her life. Hermione didn't stand by watching the world leave her behind as she wallowed away into nothing. She made her choices and dealt with problems as they came and ultimately went. I'm so used to reading books where the MC doesn't get any resolution until she 'proves her innocence' and finds her rapist. What makes this book so great is that this MC doesn't get a fairy tale ending but she discovers that it's still a possibility for her. It should be highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Although the prose is not super-robust, the story itself has a lot to discuss. Hermione is a co-captain of the cheerleading squad and, when something happens at cheer camp, she has to work on learning who her friends are and who she is as a person.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing book, I have no other words, just amazing. Wow
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is an important story but some details just did not ring true. Even though Hermione was drugged and can't remember the rape, her reaction seems too nonchalant. She continues to cheer and picks up where her life left off with minor hiccups of reminders of the assault. I just found her actions afterward and the psychiatrist implausible.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Read in one go. What a beautiful story about a terrible thing. The strength Hermione shows through the entire book is inspiring.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4.5 stars. Compassionate & sensitive portrayal of a topic no one wants to discuss (even though they should). A powerful and beautifully written novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A unique, powerful, empowering book about survival and self-discovery after surviving a moment when one's right to choose has been stripped away. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Phenomenal.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    3.75

    I absolutely love the way they tackled the delicate subject matter. I also adored the friendship between Hermoine and Polly.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    ape is not an easy subject matter to cover or to read about despite the plethora of novels, tv shows and movies which treat it as a simple plot device. Where this story is a little different to many of those is that Hermione and her relationships are at the heart of the story and unlike many she has a really strong support network which means that much of the story is about Hermione taking back control and choosing not to be defined by solely this experience. I recognise that this is not true of every rape survivor but it was refreshing to read about how this could work with the right support structure in place. That’s is not to say the writing here is superficial. Johnson has worked hard to create a scenario and a town where Hermione is able to make the choices she makes. We have the crime taking place away from home so there is an underlying certainty for Hermione that she does not know her attacker which perhaps makes it easier for her to proceed as she does back at home. Nonetheless the town is a small one and as the co-leader of a successful cheerleading squad and she still faces a level of judgement and victim-shaming although this is quickly closed down; perhaps more quickly than is realistic regardless of her place in the schools social hierarchy. The real strength of this novel is however in the relationships Hermione has, with her parents, her coach and perhaps most of all her best friend Polly. Polly is consistently loyal and ultimately an out and out champion for Hermione which she desperately needs. Her parents are shown struggling but ultimately supportive. This really does work although I do note that none of the characters are very well fleshed out – other than the fact Polly is popular, a cheerleader, a great friend and just starting to find her way in a relationship with another girl we know very little about herMy one real criticism is that the story covers the full school year after Hermione’s attack and therefore has a slight implication of a timetable for healing – I would have like to have perhaps seen Hermione start university and deal with the reality of meeting new people moving away from her support network and growing on her strength beyond the simple time period shown here.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a loose retelling of Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. Hermione Winters, co-captain of her small-town high school cheerleading team, is convinced that this final year is going to be the best one ever. And then she's drugged and raped at summer cheer camp.This sounded like the sort of story I'd prefer to avoid, but it showed up in my recommendations and I was curious, so I read a sample online... and then I had to keep reading.For a book about a traumatic event and its aftermath, Exit, Pursued by a Bear is realistically hopeful. Hermione's family, friends and teachers are (with a couple of exceptions) incredibly supportive, and she has access to the services she needs. As the author acknowledges at the end, this is not a common experience. But Hermione's support network is plausible, not some unbelievable perfect fantasy, and they cannot magically solve all her problems. Given that there are many darker books about coping with trauma without the kind of support Hermione has, it was refreshing to read something which suggests that lacking support isn't inevitable.Exit, Pursued by a Bear explores the idea that there isn't one set way of being a victim. And it doesn't suggest this is a simply matter of choice. Hermione does choose to carry on as planned with her cheerleading, but she's aware that had her experience been a bit different, she'd probably be choosing to never leave her bedroom instead, and it is her support network which makes her cheerleading ambitions achievable.My favourite part about this book is Hermione's long-standing friendship with her co-captain, Polly. I also really liked how the title ended up fitting the story. “Girls,” I say, like I’m telling them the secrets of the universe, “this is going to be the best cheer year ever.” “Go Bears!” shouts Polly, flinging her perfectly manicured hands in the air and shaking pom-poms she doesn’t have. The boys are stomping along in back. Even the bus driver is in her spell, and I catch him looking back and smiling in his mirror. I’m the only one who knows her well enough to know that she is being excruciatingly sarcastic. That is Polly’s superpower. She’s a cheerleader for want of another choice, and while she looks like the perfect model, underneath the plastic veneer is a capacity for scorn and contempt I’m glad is on my side. Whatever the odds, if Polly is cheering for you, you are a force to be reckoned with.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There are books about rape that detail the deep emotional impact on the victim, most notably Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is a serious book detailing how the victim turns inward, feels ashamed even though it isn’t her fault, feels like she has no one to turn to and becomes unsure of friends as well as strangers.EXIT, Pursued by a Bear by E. K.Johnston is no less serious but takes a totally different stance. Hermione Winters is raped during a dance at cheerleader camp. She was given a drug, pretty much knocked out, dragged into the woods, left half submerged in the lake and remembers nothing about the event. When she is found in the lake, she is immediately whisked to the hospital where she is examined. However, the samples that were obtained were compromised because of the time she spent in the water. Thus, there was nothing to warrant taking DNA samples from the boys attending the camp.Unlike Melinda in Speak, Hermione is a strong individual, has a strong support system in family, friends (especially her friend Polly), therapist and teammates and is determined to break the curse of Palermo Heights School (read the book to see what it is). She will not let this incident ruin her life, her plans or her friendships.Johnston doesn’t ignore the trauma of rape. Hermione definitely feels the impact of this crime, but she’s determined. At first she’s afraid of the boys on the team. Could one of them possibly be the rapist? Is she going to get pregnant? Is it important to ‘get revenge’ on the perpetrator? A slew of thoughts go through her head. She’s emotional, getting unpredictable panic attacks.I think, in Speak and Exit, Pursued by a Bear, you have the two extremes. In Speak, Melinda is traumatized. In Exit, Pursued by a Bear, Hermione is determined to live her life, despite this unspeakable event. Every victim reacts differently to every crime. However, reading about a rape victim who successfully conquesrs the trauma may not be a bad thing. You can’t reverse the act. You can’t forget the situation. But maybe you can bulldoze your way through it and be the person you want to be.