Into the Forest

After I had read -- and been mesmerized by -- this novel, I urged a friend to take it home to read. She returned it the next day saying she just couldn't continue past the first few pages because it spoke so strongly to her darkest fears. And there is darkness and despair in this story of two young sisters, Eve and Nell, living alone in a remote, forested area of California. Nell, 17 and the narrator, and Eva, 18, have lost their mother to cancer, their father to an accident. Due to a series of worldwide natural catastrophes, wars, and civil unrest, they are without electricity, telephone and a ready food supply. Through rumors, they hear that people have begun to die of drug-resistant diseases, and the world's inhabitants are descending day by day into a more primal existence.Beyond the darkness, there is fascination in the constitution of a survivor. Is it strength of character, resourcefulness, luck, the simple desire to endure? Nell and Eva possess between them all these qualities and their struggle is heroic. Hegland's stark and eloquent prose make this a truly compelling book.