The story begins as Hallelujah Calhoun joins her youth group for a hiking trip in the Smoky Mountains. Six months before, she was caught in a compromising position with the pastor’s son. Luke told his version of the events of that night. Because he was the perfect pastors’s son, everyone believed him without waiting to hear her side. Hallie was hurt and confused that everyone immediately thought the worst of her and stayed silent. For six months, she hasn’t spoken up, despite the rumors circulating about her at school, despite her parents’ punishments, and despite the fact that Luke continued to find new and more horrible ways to bully her to keep her silent.
On the trip, Hallie meets Rachel, a new girl who hasn’t heard all the rumors. Rachel tries to befriend her, but Hallie keeps her distance.
On the beginning of the first day-long hike, both girls hit their breaking point in their separate miseries. They decide to follow the trail back to the lodge and Hallie’s former friend (and assigned hiking buddy) Jonah joins them. But instead of making their way back, they find themselves lost in the mountains with no choice but to band together to survive. As they get closer, Hallie finally lets herself open up to someone about what happened to her and about the doubts she has begun to have about her faith. But if they cannot find their way out of the mountains and back to civilization, she may not have found her voice in time to use it for long.
This book was a survival story, both in the literal sense and the emotional one. The way the characters were physically lost mirrored Hallie’s emotional state without it ever being too convenient or overt. Their struggle to survive was real–they had to find water, food, and the road home, just like she had to find a way to speak up. As she succeeded at one, she began to slowly strengthen her resolve to do the other. Hallie’s struggles–both with the wilderness and with her own part in what happened to her–felt authentic. Hallie was deeply flawed, but I loved her. Holmes made me care about her enough to cry with her (and I don’t give up my tears all that easily).
Rachel and Jonah were fantastic minor characters. They each had their own story lines and their own emotional issues to work through. There was a little bit of romance in the book and it was perfect–it added to the story without ever taking the spotlight from the survival aspect of the plot.
Hallie’s sense of disconnect from God felt authentic, too. She didn’t hate her parents or her church and the way she had been raised. She was simply questioning whether God was real and whether he cares for her. As someone who grew up (and remained) in the Christian faith, this felt realistic to me.
The prose was beautiful, literary without being (unnecessarily) inaccessible. The setting was gorgeous. The pacing and structure excellent. Seriously, I can’t say enough good things about this book. So go read it!
Thanks to HarperTeen for providing us a copy of The Distance Between Lost and Found to review
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