The River by Peter Heller

I kept seeing this referenced and recommended on Modern Mrs. Darcy so when we flew to Philadelphia in May I thought I'd finally read it. I read 2/3 of it on the plane on the way there, but then I could just tell that bad things were coming and I lost momentum. It sat on my bedside stand for the next two months until I could finally work up the nerve to skim the last few chapters to find out what happened. I didn't even want to read the end fully because I knew something bad was coming. And I just wasn't in the mood for super sad and bad stuff. For a quick summary: the story is about two best friends from college who are spending several weeks paddling up a river in northern Canada and roughing it on the land, and the things that happen to them while they're out there. I wish I'd just finished it when I started it, but I didn't. It was spectacularly written--so beautiful, such amazing descriptions, and the setting was fantastic. I just didn't have the heart to rip off that band-aid to finish it.