Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Summary:  Sisters Abby (14), Emma (12), and Ollie (9) have been sent to Camp Unplugged for two weeks by parents who are frustrated by the girls’ constant fighting.  The story opens with the three on a disciplinary hike with camp counselor Dana.  When Dana leaves them briefly to scout the area, Abby decides to turn around and head back to camp.  Soon the girls are lost and have to survive a series of life-threatening events, including Emma’s near-drowning, Abby’s bear attack, and Ollie’s ankle injury that makes walking nearly impossible.  The story alternates among the three girls’ perspectives and switches between the past and present to gradually show the reader the difficulties a move to a new home has caused them and the ensuing cruel prank war that has driven them apart.  Forced to work together to survive, the girls begin to realize that their differences are petty compared to the love they have for each other.  Includes an author’s note about her own wilderness survival story that inspired this book.  320 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  Part survival adventure, part family story, this is a book that’s sure to appeal to a wide audience.  Heidi Lang does a masterful job of weaving together the different points of view and slowly revealing how events and insecurities in the past have led the girls to their current dire situation.

Cons:  I had to occasionally suspend my disbelief a bit, particularly in the miraculous rescue of Mr. Snuffles.

Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  A whitewater rafting trip turns into a survival nightmare for five middle school students when a dam breaks and they barely escape the floodwaters.  With their adult leaders gone, the group breaks into two factions, starting a war over who will lead until they are rescued.  When this conflict results in tragedy, the kids realize they have to put aside their differences if they are going to survive.  Facing wild animals, injuries, and a dwindling food supply, they learn each others’ secrets and vow that their friendship will last if and when they are rescued.  Includes tips for surviving in the wilderness.  193 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  The short chapters, non-stop action, and cliffhanger chapter endings will keep even the most reluctant readers engaged.  Narrator Daniel’s secret about his father’s mental illness adds an interesting dimension to his character.

Cons:  Due to the short length of the book and the focus on the action, the characters weren’t all that well-developed, particularly Tony, who had a pivotal role in the story.

Published by Starscape

Summary:  “Dad always said if things get desperate, it’s okay to drink the water in the toilet bowl.”  When we meet John and his younger brother Stew, they are indeed scooping water out of a toilet; things have obviously gotten desperate.  Their father is away on a business trip, and the power grid over much of the U.S. has been out for weeks.  Dad is a bit of a survivalist, but unfortunately his reputation was well-known.  When some unsavory neighbors learned the boys were on their own, their food and water supplies were stolen one night.  Now they’re stocking up on toilet water to make a 96-mile hike through the Nevada desert to the one place they know of that might save them.  Another pair of siblings, Cleverly and Will, who are also trying to stay alive, find them in the bathroom.  Stew convinces a reluctant John to let them come along, and the four of them start out.  For reasons that are not clear until well past the halfway point of the book, they have to make the trip in three days, and even John and Stew’s survivalist training may not be enough to get all four of them safely to their destination.  272 pages; grades 4-8.

Pros:  Holy cow!  Once I got about a third of the way through, nothing would do but to read all the way to the end.  Unlike many survival stories, the situations felt fairly realistic, as did the knowledge the kids had.  The characters were interesting and reasonably well-developed, and the pace did not let up from page one until the very end.

Cons:  I had a very unproductive Saturday morning, thanks to this book.

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