A CONSTELLATION OF MINOR BEARS

Molly has just graduated high school in Edmonton, Alberta, and she’s heading off to hike the Pacific Crest Trail: “the hardest and best thing we’d ever do.”

Since her brother, Hank, is recovering from an accident that’s left him with traumatic brain injury, 17-year-old Molly sets out with his best friend, Traylor. She’s using this trip to get some space from her family as she contemplates her next steps: She planned to become a doctor and help her Métis community, but now that doesn’t feel like the right path. A summer outdoors, listening to tunes with the person she blames for her brother’s accident, should take her mind off her impending future. Tray is in love with Molly; he knew when he was 13 that he’d marry her and has been waiting for her to catch on. High-achieving Molly has an all-or-nothing mentality that holds her back but feels realistic for her age. She suffers from the burden of others’ expectations, and hiking the trail gives her time and space for self-reflection. The book jumps around in time, shifting among three youths’ perspectives as it explores disability and fat activism and fatphobia, with a side of romance. Although the novel is long, it doesn’t fully engage with all of its plots and subplots, which makes for an unsatisfying read.

A novel for patient readers that doesn’t dig deeply enough into the important issues it explores.