This book was an absolute delight! Bryson is a fantastic writer. I enjoyed both the historical and scientific aspects he included about the Appalachians and his whimsical way of relaying his mishaps and adventures on the trail. Bryson does a wonderful job highlighting a beautiful part of the United States and reminds me that there is still wilderness left in the modern world.
Worst book I've ever read. Honestly. I don't think it deserves even 1 star. A student of mine has written a better story than this in 200 words.
My 10th grade students chose this for our virtual book club in the last 6 weeks of our school year. I forced myself to read the chapters each day before our meeting. My students and I discussed how terrible the syntax and dialogue were almost each meeting. High school students could recognize how poor the writing is.
I've told my students almost daily (before quarantine) if they want to be better writers and readers, then they have to read more books. This book is not the type of book that would make them a better writer.
This was an easy read for summer days at the pool. However, I watched the “Bridgerton” series on Netflix before reading any of the books, so the Eloise I met on the screen is not quite the Eloise in this book. Is she clever? As ever. Is she opinionated and a rambler? Absolutely. But I felt the screen Eloise had more gumption and gall than the one of the book. There are glimpses of her, but the idea of Eloise Bridgerton being swept up in her loneliness at 28 and sneaking off to see if her pen-pal could be the one seemed a bit far fetched. Perhaps if I had met Book Eloise before Screen Eloise, I would have enjoyed this more? I'm not sure.
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