Exit, Pursued by a Bear

"This story of a cheerleader rising up after a traumatic event will give you Veronica Mars-level feels that will stay with you long after you finish."—Seventeen Magazine

Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak for a new generation

Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, this doesn’t mean what you think it means. At PHHS, the cheerleaders don't cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team—the pride and joy of a tiny town. The team's summer training camp is Hermione's last and she knows this season could make her a legend. But during a camp party, someone slips something in her drink. And it all goes black.

In every class, there's a star cheerleader and a pariah pregnant girl. They're never supposed to be the same person. Hermione struggles to regain the control she's always had and faces a wrenching decision about how to move on. The assault wasn't the beginning of Hermione Winter's story and she's not going to let it be the end. She won’t be anyone’s cautionary tale.

E.K. Johnston is the author of L.A. Time Book Prize and William C. Morris Award finalist The Story of Owen and its sequel, Prairie Fire. The New York Times called The Story of Owen “a clever first step in the career of a novelist who, like her troubador heroine, has many more songs to sing." E.K. Johnston lives in Ontario, where she also works as a bookseller. Follow her on Twitter at @ek_johnston.