Find your next great read for National Trails Day by exploring my reviews of these thrilling YA books about survival.

Too quickly, a happy outdoor adventure can turn into a life-or-death scenario. Each year, around 2,000 hikers get lost each year—just in the United States. Weather, ill-preparedness, leaving a hiking trail, an accident, or bad equipment are just some examples of things that can go wrong in nature.

Here are my top recommendations for several page-turning YA books about survival that gave me new appreciation for my dry house, warm blankets, and stocked refrigerator. The tenacity of these young survivors is an inspiration.

Against the Pack by Khristina Chess

“And once you decided you were going in the wrong direction, how did you find your way back? What happened when you couldn’t go back?” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Against the Pack

OH MY GOSH!!! Incredible! What I love most about Against the Pack is the way this story hooks you from the beginning and doesn’t let go. It’s impossible to put this one down. Melender is a gritty character who fights to live, and I was breathless as she journeyed toward the novel’s thrilling ending. This is the kind of wilderness survival adventure that explores the core spirit of a person, and as the hours and days unfold, the complicated nature of the relationship between Melender and her mom becomes apparent.

You won’t want to miss this action-packed, emotionally raw YA book about survival.

I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall

“To survive you need to learn to hold contradictory things in your head at the same time. I am going to die; I am going to live. There is nothing to fear; be wary of everything.” ― Kate Alice Marshall, quote from I Am Still Alive

What an amazing page-turner! From the beginning this book grabbed me and didn't let go. It's the kind of story that had me staying up late to read, sitting outside in the shade to read, read, read, reading to finish because I couldn't put this novel down. It starts with a BANG--literally, when strangers kill Jess's father, leaving her stranded in the wilderness of Canada with his dog, Bo. She's still recovering from a car accident that killed her mother, so she doesn't walk well, and she's a city girl so she's not great at hunting and fishing. How will she handle a Canadian winter alone without shelter or food?

She is alive. And she is tenacious.

I loved this girl's grit, and I wanted to see her survive. I wanted to know the answer to the mystery about who the men killed her father.

And after reading this one, I binged on everything that Kate Alice Marshall has written and added her to my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s amazing! She’s at the top of my list of the best YA book recommendations and authors of all time.

If you’re looking for a gripping YA book about survival that you won’t be able to put down, check out I Am Still Alive.

Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Young-Ullman

In this absorbing novel, a broken mother-daughter relationship drives everything that’s happening, both in the present and in the past. The present is awful. Ingrid has been sent away to a 3-week wilderness program for at-risk teens, although she didn’t realize what she was signing up for at the time, and now she’s wet, miserable, mosquito-bitten, and trapped with a misfit group in the middle of nowhere. But she’s determined to see things through to prove something to her mother and earn the carrot, which is permission to attend a music school abroad.

The past is a complicated story about her mother’s beautiful opera voice and depression. There is a strong codependency relationship between the mother and daughter, since the mother is a depressed diva. From an early age, Ingrid took care of her mother since no father was in the picture.

I loved the mystery about how Ingrid ended up in the wilderness, and I was rooting for her to make it out.

If you are looking for a YA book about survival with real character depth and heartbreak, this one is one of my new favorites.

Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis

“Living things will fight to stay that way.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from Be Not Far From Me

Be Not Far from Me is a fast and engaging read about a girl who is lost and wounded in the woods. There are some plot points that seem a bit problematic, but the story is so compelling that I couldn't put this book down. There was a moment near the end when I became as lost as Ashley and wasn't sure how things would end for her anymore.

I was impressed by a novel that progressed almost entirely with just one character. Ashley carried the weight of the narrative and the conflict on her shoulders by herself. Alone and barefoot.

This was my second Mindy McGinnis novel, and after reading it, I also added her to my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited.

Be sure to check out this YA book about survival that pits a quick-witted, tough-talking teen against nature’s elements.

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

“There's different ways of doing things wrong, Lynn, and not all of it is choosing to hurt others. Sometimes it's the things you don't do that make you feel the worst.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from Not a Drop to Drink

In fact, Mindy McGinnis has become one of my favorite authors because of her unique stories and gritty protagonists, and Not A Drop To Drink is every bit of that.

Set in a future where drinking water is scarce and people fight for survival in a wild frontier, Lynn is a young woman in rural Ohio defending a pond and her homestead. Her mother raised her to distrust, to fight, and to live, and that's what she intends to do.

I enjoyed watching Lynn's fierce character evolve into a person who was willing to allow others into her life, to trust and even love. Despite her hardness, she had a kind heart. There were some interesting scenes in interactions with other people, like the stranger on the road, that tested her humanity.

Not a Drop to Drink was also a fast, thrilling YA book about survival, and its sequel, In a Handful of Dust, follows Lynn and her adopted daughter Lucy into the unknown after a mysterious plague drives them away from their home and community.

Property of Nobody by Khristina Chess

“No one is coming for you. No one is missing you. And no one will mourn you if you’re killed.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Property of Nobody

Freedom is not free.

Wow! Property of Nobody hooked me from the first page and never let me go!

Teódulo is a compelling and resonant male voice in a genre dominated by female characters. What makes Property of Nobody so special is the gripping, slow-boil depiction of how he falls into the trap of debt bondage and can’t escape. I worried about him. I loved seeing his journey and choices as he befriends various characters. This is the kind of thrilling, authentic novel that really shows the dark underbelly of immigration, human trafficking, organized crime, and the desperation of children caught in this web.

If you are looking for YA books about survival, this one is definitely a page-turner! In fact, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.

The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island by Scott Semegran

I picked up this novel because it was the 2021 First Place winner for Middle-Grade/Young Adult Writers Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Wow! It hooked me immediately and didn’t let go.

Four middle-school boys find a backpack full of cash and pot left behind by their nemesis bullies, the Thousand Oaks Gang, and after evading them fails (they get beat up), they decide to retreat to an abandoned lake house for a few days. Being kids, they haven’t thought this through. The bullies find them. They end up stranded on an island with no food, water, or shelter and must survive until someone rescues them.

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this novel. I felt I was in great storytelling hands with Semegran. I don’t usually like Middle Grade novels; they usually are too young for me to really appreciate. But The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island has something special. As others have noted, it reminds me of The Body by Stephen King, which inspired Stand by Me (the movie). Perhaps it is the narrator’s voice, which seems older and wiser than his young years.

Treat yourself to this suspenseful YA book about survival with strong and diverse male characters in a wonderful time and place.

The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes

Three teenagers are separated from their church youth group and survive for 7 days in the wilderness. Along their journey, they find forgiveness with each other and also love. And faith. Although the story has a strong plot element of fighting nature to survive (storms, poison ivy, etc.), the real story is one of character transformation in the distance between lost and found.

Switchback by Danika Stone

I enjoyed the fast pacing of this YA survival story, and I was invested in seeing Vale and Ash get out alive. As with other books in this genre, many disasters and obstacles kept the tension taut through the length of the novel.

Other YA Books about Survival

If you are looking other YA books about survival, check out the YA Survival Books shelf and YA Survival Books list on Goodreads. You may also be interested in my posts on Other Good Reads.

Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.

Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.