Scott Peters (1)

Nick was on a family trip that he didn't want to be on. The trip was fine, but he'd rather be home with his friends surfing. He was with his new step-dad, step-sister, and mother traveling the world. They ended up on a ferry on the Amazon River when things got tense. River pirates stopped their boat, and afraid from reports they had heard, Nick and his family escape the ferry on his surfboard. During the escape, Nick and his step-sister, Maddie, become separated from their parents and have to survive the Amazon wilds for several nights alone. After interacting with alligators, jaguars, native people, flooding, and much more, they are reunited with their parents with a much stronger bond than when they began their journey.

The premise for this story was based on actual events, which is mentioned at the end of the book. It is a quick, action-packed story, typical of those written for the 8-12 age group. It was also full of interesting and sometimes uncomfortable facts about the Amazon region, including an information section at the end of the book. The environmental push of the book is not subtle. I appreciate the efforts taken to make children aware of environmental issues; however, I'm not sure it is best understood in an age range that is unlikely to understand the struggles of people living in this country. Struggles that few 8-12 year-olds in America experience. It is a complicated issue that I feel the authors unfairly turned into a right vs. wrong situation.… (mehr)