Exit, Pursued By A Bear

"You would be forgiven for assuming that E.K. Johnston’s Exit, Pursued By a Bear — about how head cheerleader Hermione Winters pieces her life back together after being drugged and raped at cheer camp — would be a depressing read. But despite its unflinching depiction of the real challenges faced by assault survivors, it’s also warmer, more comforting and simply compelling in a way its plot summary could never capture. While assault survivors, both in fact and in fiction, often find their lives narrowed to this one designation, Johnston refuses to flatten her heroine. Instead, she insists that Hermione’s joy in being thrown into the air during cheer routines, and the strength of her best friendship with co-captain Polly are just as vital to our understanding of her as the facts of her assault. By doing so, Johnston makes Hermione’s story easier to survive, for both Hermione and the reader, without ever making it less true."