No Fences in Alaska by Glen Sobey

Harper has made a lot of mistakes in her life but her family is no help.  Her father gets angry and yells at her and threatens her.  Why should she listen to him?  Her mother tries to hide from the problems.  She's sixteen, she'll do what she wants to do.

Black Rose Writing shared a copy of this book with me for review (thank you).  It has been published so you can grab a copy now.

This is a look at the sordid world of a young girl who doesn't know her own mind.She's young enough to be manipulated into thinking it's all her own idea when it's not.  She's pretty and well developed and the boys notice.  At the moment she's dating a college student.  He has drugs, booze and sex to share with her.  When her father forbids her to leave the house since he saw what she was wearing, she threatens to jump out the upstairs window and cuts her arm.  The police take her to the mental evaluation unit of the hospital. She lies her way out of there.

When she finds out she's pregnant, her boyfriend tells her to abort it.  She doesn't know if she wants to.  With her father tracking her phone and computer communication, she decides there is only one way out for her.  She'll go to Alaska and stay with the Grandpa she hasn't seen since she was six.  She calls him and he says she is welcome to come then she blackmails her father into paying for her airfare.

Her Grandpa tells her she has to find her own way.  She can do what she wants but she will only get ahead if she chooses her own path.  She learns to shoot, learns never to run from a bear, goes backpacking and sees beautiful sights, and learns Grandpa has dementia.  They take care of each other.

She does learn a lot there, even what love is, and she also has also learned how to protect herself.  She'll need that skill.

It's a happy and sad book about life in general.  Most of us like having no fences.  Learning your lessons by experience is hard but you don't forget them...