The End of the Wild by Nicole Helget

Fern lives with her step father and two brothers in a small, run-down house in rural Minnesota. Fern's step father is unemployed and they get much of their food by foraging and poaching animals in a nearby forest. Despite their poverty and the absence of a mother who died in a car accident years before, they are relatively happy. Then a fracking company moves into town and threatens the woods near their home.  Fern feels threatened, but many in town welcome the company hoping for better employment opportunities.

I think this book is getting attention not because it is particularly well written, but because it deals sensitively with current issues.  The author resists the temptation to make the story about a innocent girl fighting against an evil corporation.  Helget clearly favors environmentalism, but acknowledges that there are arguments that fracking, although imperfect, may be in some cases better than other alternatives.  Like many realistic fiction, Helget adds a bunch of other social issues into the soup.  Fern's father has PTS and her best friend is a Muslim immigrant. There are discussions about foster care, and non-blood-related custodial parents. (Amazingly, no GBLT characters). Well drawn and sympathetic characters made it all work.  Best of all it was a really quick read. I actually read it in one afternoon. (266 p. 2017)