In award-winning author Jen Ferguson’s latest contemporary young-adult novel, long-time best friends Molly Norris-Norquay and Tray Lambert depart from their hometown of Edmonton shortly after Molly’s high school graduation. Their destination: the U.S.-Mexico border, to hike part of the gruelling Pacific Crest Trail. Their plan: to spend seven weeks of summer together before Molly is set to begin the pre-med track at the University of Calgary. But the post-graduation trek has changed considerably from how it was initially conceived and planned. 

For one thing, neither Molly nor Tray could have anticipated that Molly’s older half-brother Hank – Tray’s other best friend – would suffer a traumatic brain injury from an accident and be unable to join them on their trip. For another, Molly did not foresee having to spend weeks alone in the wilderness with Tray, the one person she now really dislikes. And lastly, Tray has fallen irrevocably, ineffably in love with his powerful, smart, gorgeous best friend Molly and is unsure how their fractured friendship can build to the future he has planned in his head. 

Molly is not only consumed by a deep anger primarily directed at Tray for his role in her brother’s catastrophic fall while indoor climbing, but also at ableist thinking and our ableist world. Even as Molly aims her illogical and blistering fury at Tray, he continues to love both of the Norris-Norquay siblings with his entire, undivided being. 

At a major turning point in their hike, Molly and Tray befriend another hiker named Brynn, a friendly and bubbly teen travelling solo, who offers Oreos and not much by way of backstory. In meeting Brynn and taking her under their wing, Molly and Tray are initially buoyed with extra energy, but before long they find themselves jolted by surprising revelations that lead to events that alter the direction of their backpacking plans and their relationship. 

In this expansive novel, Ferguson explores a well of subjects: disability and post-concussion syndrome; fat-phobia and fat-abuse; and anti-Indigenous racism. While not all of the storylines are necessarily resolved by the end, this bears little impact as Ferguson’s novel is beautifully written, at once lyrical, visceral, and romantic. An emotional journey not to be missed, with characters not soon forgotten, A Constellation of Minor Bears is a deeply reflective and fierce story from beginning to end.