This is the third book in author Terry Lynn Johnson’s “Survivor Diaries” series. All the book have the same tagline: “Stay Calm. Stay Smart. Survive.”

In this short book, Johnson uses fictional characters to make what could be a dull story into an exciting adventure that left me cheering for the main protagonist.

Travis and his family are going whale-watching off the coast of Washington. The voyage is interesting, mainly because the captain has a daughter, Maria, about Travis’s age whom he finds cute. He stays close by her during the voyage.

When a whale attacks the ship, Travis and Maria are thrown overboard. In the chaos, they can’t locate the boat. Luckily, Maria knows her stuff and helps Travis navigate the frigid waters.

A wonderful combination of fiction and nonfiction makes for fascinating reading, and readers of any age can learn how to survive in water. Survivor Diaries: Overboard receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. ( )

Interesting story of survivor after being shipwrecked. Two children are swept away from the boat they are in while watching whales. The story is loaded with information on how to survive in that situation. Suspenseful adventure that will keep young readers interested. Helpful tips approved by the U. S. Coast Guard in the back. I will recommend this book to readers who enjoy survivor books as well as reluctant readers. ( )

I've spent the last few years basically buying anything that mentions "survival" in its title and trying to keep enough copies on the shelf to satisfy the voracious reading habits of my library audience. There are two general categories of these stories, one is historical fiction like the I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis and the other is natural disasters with a more contemporary feeling. This falls in the latter category.

The premise of this series is a reporter interviewing kids who have survived real-life experiences. He's interviewing eleven-year-old Travis, who was washed overboard by a giant wave in the dangerously cold waters off the coast of Washington. Accompanied only by Marina, the boat captain's daughter, the two must overcome panic, injury, and their own fears and worries. Marina, at first the strong, competent one, slowly succumbs to her injuries and the cold, leaving Travis to try to stay calm and use what she's told him to help them survive. Ultimately, he must overcome his previous fears from a bad accident in gymnastics to get help.

The story ends with an author's note and real-life survival tips from the Coast Guard. There were a couple things that confused me - the tips say not to swim but the kids swim for shore and the picture of the HELP position doesn't match the description. But these are pretty minor in the scheme of things. The burden of the adventure is shared equally by Marina and Travis - Marina is the one who has the knowledge to survive, but her injuries eventually force Travis to take over and face his fears. Travis' weight is mentioned several times, first at the beginning when his brothers tease him, and again by the reporter at the end, when he explains that he's rejoined the gymnastics team and lost weight. Marina reveals that her dad is a single parent, since her mom left them when she was young. Although there's not much suspense involved (the reader knows right away that they survived) the action is brisk and interesting and the real-life situation will thrill readers who like this type of adventure.

Verdict: Hand this one to fans of survival stories and those who like to imagine themselves stranded in the wilderness or who like to be prepared. At just over 100 pages, this is a a popular series for a variety of readers which is sure to fly off your shelves.

ISBN: 9780544970106; Published 2017 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Purchased for the library

~ review copy provided

OVERBOARD is the first book in a series that is really going to appeal to kids who are looking for adventure books. [The book is at Lexile 540L. There is not Accelerated Reader info available right now.]

The story is about a whale watching cruise out into the waters off Washington state. That's pretty interesting in itself, but matters get totally out of hand when the small vessel is capsized and Travis, our main character, finds himself in the heat sapping waves drifting away from everyone else...

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I think the writing in this book is top notch and the story is very engaging. So if older siblings are reading and loving Gary Paulsen's HATCHET, you can hand younger readers OVERBOARD and not feel like you've short changed them. Both books are excellent and feature surprise, a sense of mild danger and the can-do spirit of adventure.

Besides the adventure one of the things that kids are going to love are the survival tips, which range from the dangers of hypothermia and what to do to combat it, to how to start a fire with a magnesium block. Parents, on the other hand, are going to like that Travis has to overcome his surprise, and dare we say shock, at being in this situation, as well as his own self doubts. The power of just focusing on one step at a time is definitely put on display.

There is a girl, Marina, in this story. She's the captain's daughter and she and Travis are flung together. She can't do much physically to aid their situation because she's injured, but her contributions of knowledge were absolutely necessary for their suvival.

I find myself very enthusiastic about this series. With OVERBOARD's good writing, survival details, and good plotting -- I would have never guessed the final solution that led to the kids' rescue -- I think this is going to be a series that kids are going to gobble up, and that teachers are going to want on their shelves. ( )