Open Books Challenge 2026: About Cabins, Camping, or the Wilderness

The Open Books Reading Challenge is a year-long reading challenge for people interested in pushing the boundaries of their reading. For full details of the program, please check-out our page at: https://www.rplmn.org/books-more/discover-more/open-books-reading-challenge

These are some ideas that fit the 2026 category "About cabins, camping, or the wilderness."

Happy Reading!

Updated December 31, 2025
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Liz at Marigold Lake
Barkley, Callie.
Paper Book
The Critter Club is going camping--but are they really ready for a weekend in the wilderness? When Liz invites the Critter Club girls to her house at Marigold Lake for the weekend, they are really excited for their camping adventure--especially because Marigold Lake is known for...
The lovely and the lost
Barnes, Jennifer
Paper Book
FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE INHERITANCE GAMES   In this unputdownable standalone mystery from Jennifer Lynn Barnes, a teenage girl, her friends, and their search-and-rescue dogs must uncover long-buried secrets to save a life.<...
Camp Average
Battle, Craig
Paper Book
In the first book in a hit summer reading series for children ages 8 to 12, campers fight to lose like never before. This three-book series is great for sports fans and reluctant readers, with Camp Average shortlisted for provincial children's choice awards in Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan....
Back of beyond
Box, C. J.
Paper Book
Edgar® Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box delivers a thriller about a troubled cop trying to save his son from a killer in Yellowstone. Cody Hoyt, while a brilliant cop, is an alcoholic struggling with two months of sobriety when his mentor and AA sponsor Hank...
What kind of paradise
Brown, Janelle.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A teenage girl breaks free from her father's world of isolation to discover that her whole life is a lie in this "absorbing and well-crafted" (The Washington Post) novel from the New York Times bestselling author...
What wild women do
Brown, Karma
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER From the #1 internationally bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife comes a must-read book of the season. A 1970s feminist facing the costs of loss and autonomy strives to create a better future for women at her Adirondack...
Woman of courage
Brunstetter, Wanda E.
Paper Book
Take a three-thousand mile journey with Amanda Pearson as she leaves the disgrace of a broken engagement and enters the work of a Quaker mission in the western wilds. The trip is fraught with danger, and Amanda is near death before reaching her destination. Among those she meets are an Indian...
When she was me
Bush, Marlee
Paper Book
Hike.
NULL
Paper Book
*The Sunday Times bestseller* *DISCOVER YOUR NEXT ESCAPE WITH THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR* 'A tear-those-pages thriller' ABIGAIL DEAN 'Secrets galore' DAILY MAIL 'Atmospheric, haunting, and beautifully written'...
Secrets at Cedar Cabin
Coble, Colleen
Paper Book
Her mother lied about her identity and her husband wasn't who she thought he was. Can Bailey even trust herself anymore   Running for her life in the wake of her mother's murder, Bailey Fleming escapes to the only place she can think of--a remote, dilapidated cabin...
Just keep walking
Downing, Erin Soderberg
Paper Book
A USA Today Bestseller! A #1 MIBA Bestseller! Wild meets Gilmore Girls on the trail in this indie bestselling story of resilience and the healing and restorative power of the nature from bestselling author Erin Soderberg Downing "A...
Code of valor
Eason, Lynette
Paper Book
What Detective Brady St. John really needs is a relaxing vacation. Unfortunately, just as the sun is setting on his second day at a friend's cabin on Lake Henley, he hears a scream and races to rescue a woman from her would-be killer. When the killer escapes only to return to finish the job, Brady...
A walk in the park : the true story of a spectacular misadventure in the Grand Canyon
Fedarko, Kevin
Paper Book
* Winner of the 2024 National Outdoor Book Award in Outdoor Literature * Winner of the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction * Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Air Mail, Smithsonian Magazine, and Financial Times ...
The stranger in the woods : the extraordinary story of the last true hermit
Finkel, Michael
Paper Book
Many people dream of escaping modern life, but most will never act on it. This is the remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a reality--not out of anger at the world, but simply because he preferred to live on his...
Genius Camp: the Smartest Kid in the Universe, Book 2
Grabenstein, Chris
Paper Book
"Pure jelly-bean-enhanced entertainment and a perfect escape."-The New York Times The Smartest Kid in the Universe goes to genius camp in book two of this action-packed series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library!<...
The vaster wilds
Groff, Lauren
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023 NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, TIME, ESQUIRE, VOGUE, LA TIMES, SLATE, HARPER'S BAZAAR and others "Part historical, part...
Hollow
Grothe, Taylor
Paper Book
Don't Let the Forest In meets The Whispering Dark in a queer YA cult horror following a recently diagnosed autistic teen who becomes enmeshed in a community of outcasts harboring sinister secrets. "One of the best horror novels of the year, full stop. Haunting...
Into the woods
Holiday, Jenny (Romance author)
Paper Book
Summer camp heats up for a grumpy rockstar and a cynical dance instructor in this funny and heartwarming enemies-to-lovers romance. Gretchen Miller is a bit of a badass. But even badasses get the blues when it comes to romance, and Gretchen could use a break from dating. So, when...
Dead girls can't tell secrets
Ichaso, Chelsea
Paper Book
Piper's fall was no accident. Did someone want her dead? It's up to her sister to discover the truth in this shocking new thriller with an unreliable narrator, from the acclaimed author of Little Creeping Things. Piper Sullivan was in a strange hiking accident last month and has been in...
Black woods, blue sky : a novel
Ivey, Eowyn
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Snow Child returns to the mythical landscapes of Alaska with an unforgettable dark fairy tale that asks the question: Can love save us from ourselves? "No one writes like Eowyn Ivey."--Geraldine Brooks ...
Brown is beautiful
Kelkar, Supriya
Paper Book
For fans of Hair Love and Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, here is an empowering picture book about recognizing the beauty around you and within you by award-winning author Supriya Kelkar and rising star illustrator Noor Sofi. Brown is beautiful.
The bones beneath my skin
Klune, TJ
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY AND INDIE BESTSELLER! A spine-tingling standalone novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune--a supernatural road-trip thriller featuring an extraordinary young girl and her two unlikely protectors on the...
Into the wild /
Krakauer, Jon
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. This is the unforgettable story of how Christopher Johnson...
Sunshine : a graphic novel. [online electronic book]
Krosoczka, Jarrett
Ebook
Entirely Emmie
Libenson, Terri
The camping trip
Mann, Jennifer K.
Paper Book
Ernestine has never been camping before, but she's sure it will be lots of fun . . . won't it? An endearing story about a girl's first experience with the great outdoors. My aunt Jackie invited me to go camping with her and my cousin Samantha this weekend. I've never been...
North woods : a novel
Mason, Daniel
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR A WASHINGTON POST TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR * FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD AND THE MARK TWAIN AMERICAN VOICE IN LITERATURE AWARD A sweeping novel...
The intruder
McFadden, Freida
A #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking...
Camp
Miller, Kayla
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Kayla Miller comes a graphic novel about venturing off to summer camp for the first time and stepping out of one's comfort zone, navigating new experiences, and the satisfaction of blazing your own trails. ...
The god of the woods
Moore, Liz
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES "BEST THRILLER" and "BEST CRIME NOVEL" OF THE YEAR PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR "Extraordinary . . ....
Midnight sun.
Nesbø, Jo, 1960-
Paper Book
In a remote corner of Norway - a mountain town so far north the sun never sets - a man is running for his life in the sequel to bestseller Jo Nesbo's Blood on Snow. Jon is on the run. he has betrayed Oslo's biggest crime lord: The Fisherman. Fleeing to an isolated...
Dengue Boy : A Novel
Paper Book
A cyberpunk fever-dream of climate catastrophe: the full-length fiction debut from one of the boldest new voices in Argentinian literature, thrillingly translated by Rahul Bery. After the last Antarctic icecaps melt, calamity follows. Landscapes are radically transformed,...
Camping in the wild
Oldland, Nicholas
Paper Book
A new book in the bestselling Life in the Wild series follows the bear, the moose and the beaver as they give camping a try - what could possibly go wrong? A bear, a moose and a beaver decide they're finally going to go camping, and they find the perfect spot right next to a lake....
Camp prodigy
Palmer, Catherine
Ebook
Perfect for fans of Victoria Jamieson and Raina Telgemeier, this heartwarming middle grade graphic novel follows two nonbinary kids who navigate anxiety and identity while having fun and forming friendships at their summer orchestra camp. After attending an incredible concert,...
Hatchet.
Paulsen, Gary, 1939-
Paper Book
This award-winning contemporary classic is the survival story with which all others are compared--and a page-turning, heart-stopping adventure, recipient of the Newbery Honor. Hatchet has also been nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read....
One man's wilderness : an Alaskan odyssey
Proenneke, Richard.
Paper Book
This best-selling memoir from Richard Proenneke's journals and with firsthand knowledge of his subject and the setting, Sam Keith has woven a tribute to a man who carved his masterpiece out of the beyond.  To live in a pristine land unchanged by man . . . to roam a wilderness through which...
The revenant.
Punke, Michael
Paper Book
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A thrilling tale of betrayal and revenge set against the nineteenth-century American frontier, Michael Punke's The Revenant is the astonishing story of real-life trapper and frontiersman Hugh...
Still life with bread crumbs
Quindlen, Anna.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A "marvelous romantic comedy" (The New York Times Book Review) from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen "[A] wise tale about second chances, starting over, and going after what is most important in life."--Minneapolis...
The girl in cabin 13
Rivers, A. J.
Paper Book
Knock...Knock... When Emma finds a dead body on her porch with her name written on the dead man's hand she uncovers a sinister clue to the mystery that has haunted her since childhood. FBI agent Emma Griffin is sent undercover to the small sleepy town of Feathered...
Camp
Rosen, Lev AC
Paper Book
A Lambda Award Finalist, A Today Show Best Book, A Forbes Best Book, and an ALA Rainbow List Top Ten selection Set in a summer camp, this sweet and sharp screwball comedy set in a summer camp for queer teens examines the nature of toxic masculinity and self...
Christmas Camp.
Schaler, Karen
Paper Book
Now a Hallmark Original Movie From the screenwriter of the smash Netflix hit, A CHRISTMAS PRINCE, comes her debut novel about a woman who discovers the true meaning of Christmas, with the help of a unique camp and a very special someone. Now with the Bonus Short Story CHRISTMAS CAMP...
The way of the hermit : my incredible 40 years living in the wilderness
Smith, Ken (Hermit of Treig)
Paper Book
*INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER* Subconsciously, I pressed myself into the loch's banks as that summer inched forward. We'd got off to a rocky beginning, but I started to see Treig in a different way. There was something about this land that told me just to hold on a while...
Buried road : a novel
Tallo, Katie
Paper Book
"A fast-paced, exciting, missing persons thriller with a heart pounding twisty final third that I very much enjoyed. Katie Tallo is a big new talent."--New York Times bestselling author Adrian McKinty In this edge-of-your-seat thriller--the follow-up to the international bestselling Dark...
Ghost cabin
Tamaki, Mariko
Paper Book
Based on the bestselling graphic novels, this series of middle-grade novels contains all-new adventures Welcome to Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The five scouts of Roanoke cabin-Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley-love their summers at camp. They...
The lost book of first loves
Thayne, RaeAnne.
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne comes a brand-new story about two women, a family secret and a lost manuscript that changes everything... Raised by her literary icon father Carson Wells, Alison Wells always felt loved, even though her mother died when...
The cabin at the end of the world : a novel
Tremblay, Paul
Paper Book
Paul Tremblay's terrifying twist to the home invasion novel--inspiration for the upcoming major motion picture from Universal Pictures "Tremblay's personal best. It's that good." -- Stephen King Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote...
Secluded cabin sleeps six.
Unger, Lisa, 1970-
Audiobook
Flo & Wendell explore
Wegman, William.
Paper Book
William Wegman channels his love of nature in an outdoor adventure for campers of all ages Flo thinks the family's last vacation together was just grand. Her little brother, Wendell, thinks it was absolutely terrible. So, being the good big sister that she can sometimes be, Flo...
Camp Creepy
White, Kiersten.
Paper Book
The third book in the middle-grade series that's part Scooby-Doo, part A Series of Unfortunate Events, and entirely genius! Follow the Sinister-Winterbottoms on their most outrageous adventure yet, when they find themselves at a normal summer camp! After leaving the...
Kindling
Woods, Bonnie
Paper Book
*THE #2 BESTSELLING HOLIDAY ROMANCE* Sparks will fly, even without firewood... 🍂🍁🍂 ''The perfect autumnal romance! Sweet, spicy, and full of cosy vibes'' CATHERINE WALSH ''Witty and fun and full of heart'' LEONIE MACK A...

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