Be Not Far from Me

Mindy McGinnis grew up on a farm in Ohio where she learned the meaning of physical labor from a young age. Her family did not have much money, so McGinnis learned to entertain herself using her own imagination. She was also exposed to the natural world as a child on the farm as she witnessed the cycle of life and death of farm animals firsthand. McGinnis’s upbringing provides a foundation for some of the themes in Be Not Far From Me as she incorporates Nature’s Wildness and creates Ashley’s character, who also comes from a low-income background.

McGinnis features small-town life in many of her novels, and Be Not Far From Me is no exception. Having grown up in a small town where rural poverty was common, McGinnis incorporates rural life and poverty into much of her work. Although Be Not Far From Me takes place in the woods rather than in Ashley’s hometown, McGinnis provides information about Ashley’s small-town life through flashbacks and Ashley’s reflections. Ashley struggles with being content living in a small trailer with her dad. Money is constantly tight, and they don’t always have enough to buy groceries for the week. Furthermore, small-town living limits Ashley’s options of friends, and she feels discontent with the differences that exist between her and her best friend, Meredith. McGinnis highlights the challenges of living in a rural area through Ashley’s character, but she draws from her personal experiences having grown up in a small town in Ohio.

McGinnis also tends to deal with dark themes in her young adult novels. Her work spans several genres, including mystery, fantasy, historical fiction, and thrillers, but it is unified in its honest grit across genres. McGinnis does not sugarcoat teen life; she isn’t afraid to address issues such as drug use and drinking, both of which feature in Be Not Far From Me. Even though McGinnis’s writing can be dark, she balances her coverage of tough topics with humor.

In a 2020 interview with YA Books Central, McGinnis identifies Ashley as the character she’s written most like herself (“Author Chat With Mindy McGinnis.” Mindy McGinnis, 3 Mar. 2020). McGinnis is a self-starter; she has no degree in writing, and she wrote one book per year for 10 years before landing an agent. Just as Ashley is determined and self-reliant, so it seems is McGinnis. McGinnis is also an avid hiker and drew inspiration from a personal hiking experience for the plot of Be Not Far From Me. McGinnis was hiking with a friend in a remote Pennsylvania forest when her hiking partner lobbied to hike more of the trail than McGinnis thought they had time for. They lost light quickly and didn’t make it back to their car until 10 pm. Although they were safe, they briefly faced the possibility of spending the night in the woods without any gear. This close call gave McGinnis the idea for Be Not Far From Me, and this incident is included in the novel as a flashback when Ashley thinks back to hiking with Duke when a similar situation occurs.

McGinnis’s life experiences, including her rural upbringing on a farm and her outdoor experiences, shape her writing style and characterization in Be Not Far From Me. As McGinnis showcases her versatility across several genres, her writing is characterized by common threads of dark topics, rural poverty, and humor.