Well I can absolutely see why this has been so popular.

It's a great lost in the jungle adventure story. I just couldn't warm to some of the characters. In fact a couple got on my nerves. I know I know! They are kids lost in the jungle and they are scared and upset so they are bound to get a bit whiny. Lastly, 'The Explorer' annoyed me to no end. A case of not for me. ( )

I really enjoyed this adventure/survival story. At first the action was moving along so quickly that I worried the book would never really dig into the characters or the incredible place they were stranded in, but I found myself getting to know the characters and I can completely picture where they were. The cool and gross tidbits of information were a huge bonus. ( )

The Explorer is the story of four children who are on a plane leaving Brazil and bound for England. Reminiscent of the novel, Hatchet, the pilot has an attack and dies while trying to save the plane from crashing. After the plane explodes, the four are on their own in the Amazon Jungle. They survive for several days using their wits and their knowledge but have no idea how they will get home. The longer they are in the jungle, the more evidence they find that someone has been there before them. Their only hope is to find someone who can help them get to the nearest city so that they can get home.

The Explorer isn't all that unique as a survival story, but backstories of the main characters are well-developed. There is some humor and lots of adventure making this story an enjoyable read. Overall, a good book for middle grade readers. ( )

This story follows our four main characters who crashed in the amazon jungle. We see all the challenges that the for kids face in an effort to survive the jungle. Do they make it out? That is something you'll have to find out on your own. ( )

I was reading this with my eleven year old son and we made it to about page 130 before stopping. There was just absolutely no interest in continuing the book for either of us. I think the main problem was just that the story moved really slow and just wasn’t that interesting.

The premise of this book is that four kids survive a plane crash but end up stranded in the Amazon jungle. They are struggling to survive and find their way out to a major city so they can get home.

The characters are overly characterized and one dimensional which made them hard to engage with. You very obviously have a brave kid, a smart kid, a whiny kid, etc. Their struggles in the Amazon forest are typical of numerous other survival books.

Overall no one in my family enjoyed this story. While it was technically written fine; the characters, pacing, and plot left a lot to be desired. ( )