Looking for an unforgettable collection of books you’ll devour if you liked I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall? As an award-winning author and longtime blogger about issue-driven YA fiction, I know the magic of a thrilling novel so engrossing it keeps you up late to finish. Here are my top three recommendations:
Difficult and Complicated Dynamics: Against the Pack by Khristina Chess - After a brutal dog attack leaves them stranded in a remote ravine, a teenage girl must claw her way toward rescue to save her wounded mother before time runs out.
Themes of Love, Loss, and Healing: Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Young-Ullman - A complex and beautiful story about a girl in a wilderness program for at-risk teens who comes to terms with her complex relationship with her famous diva mother.
Identity and Self-Reliance: Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis - After becoming lost and injured, a teenage girl must hike out of the wilderness barefoot with only her wits to keep her alive.
You’ll find detailed reviews of these and many other favorites below.
So which YA books are great for fans of I Am Still Alive? Discover your next great read in this roundup. All of the following page-turning YA books about survival gave me new appreciation for my dry house, warm blankets, and stocked refrigerator. Be inspired by the grit and resilience of these teens.
Against the Pack by Khristina Chess
Why You’ll Love It - wilderness survival, Complicated family Relationships
“All I knew with absolute confidence was that I could move and she couldn’t. If I stayed, we might both die waiting. If I left, we might both die alone. If I left, she might die alone, but I might find help and live. Or I might find help in time, lead them to the shelter, and we might both live.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Against the Pack
What if survival meant leaving the one person you love the most behind?
Ignore the cover. Trust the story. Against the Pack is a pulse-pounding, emotionally charged YA novel that dives into deep themes of love and resilience.
It starts with a bang. While walking on a rural road, Melender and her mom are attacked by a pack of dogs—forced over a near-vertical hillside into a ravine. They’re trapped. Wounded. Stranded on a narrow ledge with no food, no water, no shelter. No phone. No way out.
No one knows where they are.
No one even knows they’re missing.
The only thing Melender has is her will to survive.
She doesn’t want to abandon her critically injured mom, but if she doesn’t find help soon, neither of them will make it.
Melender is gritty, determined, and unforgettable. What makes Against the Pack so special is that her fight isn’t just physical—it’s psychological and deeply personal. As the hours stretch into days, the novel doesn’t just test her endurance but also unravels complicated truths about her relationship with her mother.
If you love high-stakes wilderness survival stories with emotional depth, Against the Pack delivers in every way. Think Hatchet meets I Am Still Alive.
Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis
Why You’ll Love It - Gritty
“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.
If you’re looking for books like I Am Still Alive, be sure to check out this YA book about survival that pits a lone quick-witted, tough-talking teen against nature’s elements. In fact, Mindy McGinnis is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!
Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Young-Ullman
Why You’ll Love It - themes of love and loss
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 and its impact on Ingrid. 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.
Fans of I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall will enjoy this YA book about survival that offers real character depth and heartbreak.
The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes
Why You’ll Love It - wilderness survival
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.
Readers who are looking for books like I Am Still Alive will love this one.
Switchback by Danika Stone
Why You’ll Love It - wilderness survival
I enjoyed the fast pacing of this novel, and I was invested in seeing Vale and Ash get out alive. As with other books this list, many disasters and obstacles kept the tension taut through the length of the story.
If you’re looking for books similar to I Am Still Alive, this one is a must-read.
Other Great Books for Fans of I Am Still Alive
For a few other lists of great books for fans of I Am Still Alive, check out the Books Similar to I Am Still Alive list on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics for teens, including my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited.
Khristina Chess is an award-winning author of a dozen young adult novels, including The Cutting Edge of Friendship, The Delinquent Hero, and Junior Missing. Hollow Beauty, her book about eating disorders, was named a finalist in the Next Generation India Book Awards. She tackles tough teen topics and writes binge-worthy books across multiple genres, including contemporary, thriller, mystery, and adventure.