Westerfield, Scott. Horizon.

Westerfield, Scott. Horizon. Scholastic Press   2017 241p $14.99  Hardback  ISBN 978-0-545-91677-6   ms  Fantasy  VG-BN     

When their plane crashes in the Arctic, a group of teenagers going to a robotics convention find themselves among the few survivors, but they are in a supernatural jungle.  The vegetation and animals are weird.  From razor-beaked birds to carnivorous vines to a mysterious predator that is not seen, this is no ordinary jungle.  The teens use their knowledge to begin to make sense of their situation and how to operate a device they find that can control gravity.  They form a plan to find out what is going on, and the book ends.  Readers will find it excruciating to wait for the next installment.

The writing is excellent, typical of the author.  But the abrupt ending without a very satisfying conclusion is annoying.  The publisher references an online game. Checking the web pages, readers can sign on and play the game as one of the characters in the story.  Information about the author and chat groups are available.  It looks like three titles in the series are now written. Seeing who the author is, this book will fly off the shelves.  However, it would be better to wait until more titles in the series are published, so readers can continue the story without interruption.

Summary: A plane crash in the Arctic leaves teenage survivors fighting for their lives in a supernatural jungle.  Associated with a game, this is the start of a survival series.  Readers may be disappointed that the story stops in the middle.  Middle school.

Survival-Fiction                                            --Joan Theal

Brown, Skila. Caminar.

Brown, Skila.  Caminar.  Candlewick Press  2016  193p            $7.99  ISBN 978-0-7636-9094-6  ms/hs       Realistic fiction  E-BN        

Chopan, Guatemala, will never be the same now that the soldiers have come.  Seeking Communists, the soldiers frighten everyone who is apathetic, does not support them, or is scared, and they kill randomly if someone names a village member as a Communist.  Told from the perspective of a young boy, Carlos, this short volume reveals the atrocities of war in another area of the world, Central America.  It is difficult to name the enemy, as both sides commit untold injustices, and the villagers, who do not want to take sides, are caught up in the battle for survival.  Carlos is told by Mother to flee when the soldiers come, and he describes his world in images and sounds — a trench, an owl, the sounds of a helicopter, the pops of gunfire, and more.  This powerful imagery is best expressed in stanzas of poetry, the style chosen by author Skila Brown to tell Carlos’ story.  All children need resilience to survive youth, but Carlos needs that and much more.  He has observed those around him, and with skills that belie his young age, he climbs trees, joins a band of young rebels, and ekes out an existence in the jungle/mountainous region of his country.  Brown uses not only verse to tell her story; she also uses line length and position to masterfully describe Carlos and his journey up the mountain to survive.  Supporting characters are equally resilient: Flora, Carlos’s young friend whom he has often fed because she has a large family; Mama, a woman with vision who only wishes life for her son; Paco, Miguel, Hector and Ana, the young rebels who befriend Carlos and help him as much as he helps them; and Abuela, an innocent who Carlos must protect after he loses his world.  Poignant, devastating, heartfelt and horrific are just a few adjectives that describe this novel.  Children have often described their experiences during wartime in their own voices; this is not new.  However, Brown’s choices are chilling and powerful — the jungles of Guatemala, a battle that is not clearly defined, and an enemy as elusive as it is random.             

Summary: When Carlos’ mother tells him to flee, he reluctantly runs into the mountains to survive.  War has come to his small village, and he knows how to climb trees to hide.  Through his perspective, the novel describes what happens as he survives the fighting. 

War-Fiction, Survival-Fiction, Stories in verse                                                           —Martha Squaresky

Aguirre, Ann. Public Enemies.

Aguirre, Ann.  Public Enemies.  Macmillan/Farrar Strauss  2015  378p  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-250-02466-4  hs    Fantasy     VG     

In the sequel to Mortal Danger, Edie Kramer learns what it means to be a player in the Immortal Game, facing powerful enemies and making alliances with monsters to save the people she loves before it’s too late.  She has only six months to save her boyfriend Kian, but he is not the only person at risk, as it becomes plain when her dangerous immortal enemies begin to attack her friends and allies with terrible, often deadly consequences.

This book feels like a significant departure from its predecessor, abandoning the high-school aspect almost completely in order to focus on a new and varied cast of characters who are mostly villainous in one way or another.  Edie’s personality also seems to have changed radically, which is a shame, because at this point she’s taken a turn toward the generic YA heroine, and become somewhat bland.  Kian, too, has lost much of what made him intriguing in Mortal Danger.  But the new characters are very interesting indeed, which makes up for the difference, after a fashion.

Generally speaking, this is still a well-written, interesting book, but it seems to suffer from a case of “Second Book Slump.”  Nevertheless, readers will feel compelled to keep up with the series, just to see how things proceed after the shocking ending Aguirre has written to this book.
     

Summary: In this sequel to Mortal Danger, Edie Kramer learns what it means to be a player in the Immortal Game, facing powerful enemies and making alliances with monsters to save the people she loves before it’s too late.     

Mythology-Fiction, Romance-Fiction, Survival-Fiction  --Bethany Geleskie

Rosen, Michael J. The Tale of Rescue.

Rosen, Michael J.  The Tale of Rescue.    Candlewick Press  2015  103p  $14.99  ISBN 978-0-7636-7167-9      elem/ms      Animal stories    VG-BN

This the story of a cattle dog who was bred to work long hours herding and protecting the cattle.  She could run for miles without tiring.  This is also a story about a family who were visiting an area to let their son experience snow.  The family had cross-country skied, sledded and built snowmen.  On their last morning they set out to walk the half mile from their cabin to the lodge when they found themselves lost in a complete whiteout.  They continued to plod on for who knows how long.  When the storm abated, four feet of new snow lay on the ground.  Then the freezing rain started.  The family hunkered down in a hollow, out of the wind, and the father occasionally rose to whistle.

Meanwhile the dog awakened to hear the whistle and headed out to find the lost family.  She had to jump and crash through the icy crust to move.  Arriving at the family’s location, she entered their hollow and the family warmed their hands in her fur.  The dog then went home to wake her farmer, but he did not understand.  The dog then drove the herd of cattle toward the family to crush down a path for them to follow.  She had to keep going back to the family to urge them forward.  They arrived at the farmhouse, where they were revived. 

In an epilogue, the boy returns to the farm eight years later to find the elderly farmer with a new dog and no cattle.  He adopts the dog.

This story is beautifully written, with lush descriptions.  Children from grade 3 up will enjoy it.  While the language is not complicated, the detail and beauty of the words can also be enjoyed by older readers.

Summary:  A sheep dog rescues a family in a blizzard.  Survival tale as well as a paean to the intelligence  and perseverance of dogs.  

Snow rescue-Fiction                                         --Joan Theal

MacFarlane, John. Stormstruck!

MacFarlane, John.  Stormstruck!  Holiday House  2015  138p.  $16.95     ISBN 978-0-8234-3394-0    ms  Conflict    E-BN 

     

Twelve-year-old Sam overhears his father say that it is time to have the family dog put to sleep.  He sneaks out in the early morning and sets sail in a small sailboat with the dog, aiming for an island off the coast of Maine.  The weather does not cooperate.  They are caught in a blinding fog, surrounded by sharks, and a beset by the weather as a huge storm approaches.  Sam summons great courage and ingenuity in his attempt to survive and save his dog as well as the elderly hermit who tries to help him.  He gets some help from a one-eyed cormorant, the hermit, and the excellent advice he has previously received from his elder brother.
 

This is a short book packed with action and adventure.  At times it feels like “what else can go wrong?”  Sam makes several immature and poor decisions, but with his sailing experience and the teachings he remembers from his brother, he comes through successfully.

The story ends with Sam and his crew sailing towards home, and the reader does not learn about the consequences Sam will face there.  Middle-school readers, especially boys, will devour this novel of action and survival, making it an excellent title for them.  Survival and action make it a sure winner.

Summary: Twelve-year-old Sam takes his aged dog out in his sailboat so that his parents cannot have the dog put to sleep.  He is caught in a storm, and this becomes a survival story, and an exciting read for middle-school readers.

Survival at sea-Fiction                               --Joan Theal