Lassieur, Allison. Can You Survive Being Lost At Sea? An Interactive Survival Adventure.

Lassieur, Allison.  Can You Survive Being Lost At Sea? An Interactive Survival Adventure. Capstone Publishers     2013  112p      ISBN 978-1-4296-6861-3 

Series: You Choose: Survival  elem  Hardback    E-BNe Nonfiction

This narrative nonfiction has the reader making choices based on knowledge and common sense to lead to either survival or destruction in a misadventure at sea.  There are three possible scenarios presented, and at key points in each story line, the reader makes choices in order to move the story forward.  Along the way, the reader learns some important principles of survival.  If he or she tries each option, he or she will learn lessons – for example, drinking sea water is deadly, no matter how thirsty you are.

The vocabulary is controlled and there is a glossary in the back.  The last chapter gives a summation of survival thoughts.  Then there are four real-life examples of survival at sea.  A quiz asks readers to prioritize their survival needs.  A bibliography lists four titles and the publisher-sponsored web site.  The index lists terms that are used in the narrative.  The writing is clear and presents plausible situations for survival at sea.  Making the right choices leads the readers to rescue, while less sensible choices lead to death.  The reader can easily go back and change choices to change outcomes.  The illustrations enhance the factual information and lend excitement to the story.

This book will appeal to boys and some girls in grades 3-6.  The series, You Choose: Survival, presents survival situations where the reader makes choices that influence the outcome.       

Summary: This book offers three main survival scenarios involving being lost at sea, with multiple possible endings.  Each choice emphasizes the principles of survival. 

Survival, Maritime danger                                         --Joan Theal

Choyce, Lesley. Breaking Point.

Choyce, Lesley.   Breaking Point.   Orca  124p  $9.95 978-1-4598-0128-8       ms/hs Orca Soundings    VG    Survival   

For his latest breaking-and-entering conviction, Cameron chooses an outdoor wilderness program off the coast of Nova Scotia as his punishment instead of a standard juvenile detention facility.  There he meets Brianna, who was convicted for selling drugs at her school.  Brianna convinces Cameron to join her in an escape plan in which they steal two kayaks and head to Canada.

As the two prepare for their escape, they learn of an impending hurricane headed their way.  Undaunted by the warning, they take off into the storm’s dangerous path and soon face strong winds, heavy rains and raging waters.  Their escape rapidly turns into a journey for survival.

As the adventure unfolds, Lesley Choyce takes the reader on the two teens’ physical and emotional journey as their priorities change from escape to survival.  The reader really feels the urgency and sense of danger that the characters encounter.  As their plan for survival plays out, the author then takes the reader on the thrilling ethical path that the pair travels to determine whether they will continue with their escape plan or seek rescue and return to incarceration.

The short story is fast-paced and well written, and it will appeal to many young and reluctant readers.  The entertaining and engaging plot allows the reader to experience difficult situations and the consequences of the choices the characters have made.

This book is one in the Orca Soundings series.  The series currently consists of 19 titles whose common theme is troubled or at-risk adolescents, the choices they make, and the ensuing consequences.  This book is recommended for young and reluctant readers. It is recommended as an essential book for middle-school and high-school libraries.   

Prison – Fiction, Severe weather – Fiction, Survival – Fiction, Realistic fiction                                             -- Virginia McGarvey

Pfeffer, Susan Beth This World We Live In

Pfeffer, Susan Beth This World We Live In
Harcourt Brace/Houghton Mifflin 2010 239p 17.00
978-0-547-24804-2 hs Realistic Fiction VG-BN
This is a realistic novel about the survival of a family in a world where nothing is alive after the collision of a meteor with the moon. It is a world of haunting images and scary emotions.
Miranda Evans and her two brothers (Matt and Jon) comb the surrounding areas for the possibilities of food and utensils after the catastrophe. The climate has changed, the sunlight is nonexistent, the landscape is barren, and the potential for food is relatively small. The family existed on what the siblings can scrounge from the vacant houses while their mother stayed home and tried to life normal.
After a few months, her divorced father, his wife (Lisa), their baby (Rachel) arrive on their doorstep creating additional problems in regards to living space and food supply.
When things are sort of working out, a tornado levels the town of Howell. Once again Miranda is faced with a difficult life and death choice.

This is a story of survival. The picture is not acceptable nor encouraging. It is a world in which choices made have definite consequences of life or death. It is a riveting read that will haunt memories with images of what the family had to do to survive. This is a very well written book that will relate well to many young readers. It is recommended as a basic book for any upper high school library. It would make an excellent selection for a basic books list for school libraries. McNeil, Linda

Revolver.

Sedgwick, Marcus. Revolver.
Roaring Press see Millbrook 2010 204p 16.99
978-1-59643-592-6 ms/hs VG-BN
This is an Arctic survival story set in Alaska. It is a compelling story of a young boy faced with his father’s death and the consequences he must face as a result of his father’s actions. Sig is a 14 year old boy who finds his father frozen to death on the Alaskan lake. After taking his father back to their cabin his sister and step mother go to town for help. It is a stressful time for Sig. However, the tension heightens when a stranger shows up demanding the gold his father stole during the gold rush days and then vanished. His father had not mentioned the gold but later it was discovered that he had left several hints and clues to its whereabouts.
The sister and mother prove to be resourceful when they return and discover the existence of the stranger.
Without telling the ending it must be noted that the compelling factor in the story is Sig’s personal conflict with using the revolver that is hidden in the storeroom in an old wooden box. It is a story that builds suspense until it climaxes with a very satisfying conclusion for the readers. McNeil, Linda

Kneece, Mark. The Midnight Sun.

Kneece, Mark The Midnight Sun
Walker_Co 2009 106p 9.99 978-0-8027-9721-6 ms/hs
Rod Serling's Twilight Zone (Walker)
Everyone has moved out of New York City as the world is coming to an end due to extreme heat. Mrs. Bronson and Norma Smith remain to battle the elements, and in a twist at the end, are caught in a different dying world, that of extreme cold. Carol Serling knows that to keep Rod’s brilliant scripts of the 60s alive, she must appeal to a target audience of children and young adults. Mark Kneece and Anthony Spay have converted 8 of the best of Serling’s TV shows to graphic novels whose characters come alive and whose plots combine action with psychological studies. As Anna M. Burgard states in her introduction, Serling was able to combine a variety of themes with entertainment. In The Midnight Sun, two survivors shore up in their apartment while the world is going crazy below due to global warming. They witness horrific acts of human depredation below, yet they hang on. In an attempt to help the ever weakening Mrs. Bronson, Norma paints a waterfall scene, which gives temporary respite to her. When a man who is desperately seeking water breaks into their apartment, they fight back, but it is futile. He shares his own desperation at losing his wife and new baby, then runs into the street below, only to meet his demise. Imagine our surprise when Norma wakes up from a fever, and as she is comforted by Mrs. Bronson and her doctor, we learn that the world is actually on the verge of collapse due to freezing climate. The world is going to end and the helplessness and hopelessness of its inhabitants are cleverly taught by Serling in his original script, and now by Mark Kneece in this powerful adaptation. With a list of characters of the TV show at the end of the novel, the reader is made to feel as if he has just read a play. Production notes serve to show us how the show was filmed, adding an extra element of spice to the already “spicy” script. Finally, Mark Kneece tells us what he did to create this series in an informative and interesting conclusion. Serling’s creations do so much more than represent the genre of science fiction. They are studies of mankind’s foibles, follies and fabrications. Squaresky, Martha

Doeden, Matt How to Survive a Flood

Doeden, Matt How to Survive a Flood
Capstone 2009 32p 23.99 978-1-42962-277-6 elm/ms
Edge Books: Prepare to Survive

With all of the news coverage of wild weather phenomena, this slim book offers an intriguing look at common sense methods for surviving a flood. With all of the news coverage of wild weather phenomena, this slim book offers an intriguing look at common sense methods for surviving a flood. This is a lively and informative presentation of a compelling subject. Beginning with a descriptive narrative of being caught by a flash flood, the book continues with a discussion of different flood dangers from downed power lines to bad drinking water and then offers a thoughtful look at a series of “what if” scenarios and how the reader might best manage to survive them. These are set out in double-page spreads enhanced by dramatic photographs and sidebars that provide practical and informative tidbits. The book ends with instructions for making a basic survival kit, a glossary, a bibliography of books and an Internet site with password, and an index. SO

Floating Circus by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. Floating Circus.
Bloomsbury see St. Martins, 2008, 198p, $16.95, 978-0-8234-2093-3

Life on an 1850’s river showboat is presented through the eyes of eleven-year-old Owen, who has run away from an orphanage. Exciting action, friendship, family and growing up are all themes in this quick read book.
Eleven-year-old Owen, delivered by his mother to an orphanage when she can no longer take care of him and his brother, strikes out on his own believing that his younger brother will have a better chance on the Orphan Train without him. Wandering the streets of Pittsburgh, Owen sneaks aboard the showboat River Palace. There he finds work and a new kind of family, especially a baby elephant and freed black jack-of–all-trades, Solomon. Owen finds many dangers – mauling by a lion, yellow fever, storms and fugitive slave catchers.
A quick read with excitement, pathos, loss, survival and hope. This introduces the reader to a little know slice of American history when showboats plied the rivers bringing shows, which included the circus. There is an author’s note about the history behind the fictionalized story.
Great for upper elementary and middle school both as historical fiction and rousing good read. JT