Book Review: Into the Jungle by Erica Ferencik

About:

Into the Jungle by Erica Ferencik is a novel taking place in the jungles of Bolivia, where an American woman finds herself with her Bolivian husband who went back to his village. Ms. Ferencik is a best selling author.

• 336 pages
• Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1501168924

My rating for Into the Jungle – 3
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Thoughts:

I have been to Bolivia and to the Amazonian jungle so naturally I was curious about this book. Into the Jungle by Erica Ferencik is an action driven book, but the author takes the time to describe Bolivia (especially Cochabamba) and the jungle.

The jungle is a living, breathing, ecosystem with a huge amount of animals, from big predators to annoying bugs, many of them can kill you. Living in the jungle is no easy task, actually it’s often brutal, and the author captured that very well. Lily, the protagonist, has a difficult time adjusting, especially being a vegetarian (which I thought was hilarious).

The story itself isn’t very realistic, the ending even less so, but it’s a fun ride nonetheless. The narrative is action driven, where something is always happening, but the characters still come through and are not wooden.

I think the author stretched the boundaries of a fictional story that is supposed to be set in a realistic environment, in today’s world. I thought the beginning, a young woman who can’t find her way in life, going to a completely different environment was a good idea, but it dropped off there.

Synopsis:

Lily Bushwold, a young lady who has lived in foster homes most of her life, finds herself in Bolivia working odd jobs and teaching English. Lily falls in love with a Bolivian named Omar, who left his life in the remote jungle.

Omar finds out that his nephew has been killed by a jaguar and goes back to his village, Ayachero, because he is, of course, the best jaguar hunter the village has. Lily joins Omar, but life in a remote village, in the middle of the jungle, is not the paradise it sounds like.

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free.
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