​A six seater plane is flying over the Amazon toward the city of Manaus. Fred has been watching the movements of the pilot’s hands on the fuel gauge, throttle, and joystick. Behind Fred are a girl and her brother. They have the same brown skin and long eyelashes. Lila is protective of her little brother Max who is trying to eat the seat belt. In the next row is a pale girl with blond hair down to her waist.  Con’s ruffled collar is clearly bothering her and she stares out the window avoiding contact.
Suddenly the pilot begins to belch repeatedly, his hand gives a violent jerk and the plane dips and lurches away from the river and down towards the canopy.  The children emerge from the crash but the pilot is dead.
Suspicious of each other and low on survival skills, the children try to find food and shelter.  The discovery of a map leads them to head for Manaus.  On the way they fall into an ancient city and meet the Explorer, a man with a mysterious past and keen survival skills who teaches them to eat tarantula eggs among other lore.  As his heart softens to the children, he must balance his need to protect the city and forest with his desire to lead them to safety.
“And all of you - do not forget that, lost out here, you were brave even in your sleep. Do not forget to take risks. Standing ovations await your bravery,' Con swallowed. 'But I'm afraid,' she whispered. The Explorer nodded, scarred and dusty and matter-of-fact. 'You are right to be afraid. Be brave anyway.”
Do yourself a favor and embark on this amazing adventure in this wise and wonderful survival story.
  


Tessa's Picks, 4th-7th grade, Adventure, Survival, People of Color

Veronika, Caroline, Isobel, and Eleanor have lived on a deserted island for as long as they can remember.  The four girls do everything together and look identical except for their hair color.   Irene and Robbert tell them that their parents all died in a plane crash and do their best to take care of them and provide them with an education.  Despite their tragic circumstances they live a relatively happy and normal life.  Or at least that's what they always believed.  Then one day a very different girl appears on the island who makes them question everything.


The book is written from Veronika's perspective and her limited knowledge and her inability to see how unique her life is creates tension as little hints are dropped which left me constantly guessing and trying to extrapolate to figure out what was going on. It reminded me of psychological thrillers like The Twilight Zone.  Veronika even talks in a way that is a bit off (read a bit of the beginning to see if you can get used to this style or not.)

The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist


Erica's Picks 
6th - 8th Grade
Tags: Character Driven, Dystopian, People of Color, Science Fiction, Survivor

When World War III ravaged the world a small group managed to survive in the remote Alaskan wilderness.  Juneau is one of the children of these survivors and has learned how to live off the land and tap into the heart of nature to work magic. When her tribe is taken while she's out hunting she ventures out of the safe zone for the first time and what she discovers shakes her to the very core: a whole city, completely untouched.  Is everything she was ever told a lie?  But her tribe is still missing and she must find them.  Now she has to survive in an environment she is completely unprepared for in a world where she has no idea whom to trust.

This story is told in the alternating perspectives of Juneau and Miles, the son of a pharmaceutical exec who wants to find Juneau to unlock the secret of why the adults in her tribe never age.  The pacing is quick and fans of Katniss will enjoy the capable Juneau.  Fans of supernatural stories will enjoy Juneau’s nature-based magic and animal lovers will enjoy Juneau's pets (dogs and a bird.)  

After the End by Amy Plum


Erica's Picks
7th & 8th Grade
Tags: Fast Paced, People of Color, Supernatural, Survivor

 When Ben's mother dies all he wants is some time to be alone, but his father has other plans. One day he announces that he's sold their house and bought a sailboat and that the family is going to spend a year sailing around the Bahamas. Ben is so upset with his father he doesn't even want look at him, so living on a 30 foot long boat with him 24/7 seems like the worst fate imaginable--until the worst truly does happen. One morning Ben and his brother  wake up in the middle of the ocean to find their father gone, and a storm bigger than any they've ever seen brewing on the horizon.

The characters and their interactions are well portrayed, but the main force driving the plot is the unrelenting action as the boys struggle to survive. This book is perfect for those seeking a fast-paced adventure novel, especially for students who like survival stories or have an interest in sailing. 

The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

Erica's Picks
5th - 8th Grade
Tags: Adventure, Family Life, Fast-Paced, Survival

Orphaned Luc is enslaved by debt to a cruel master in Gabon, Africa.  Abused and threatened, he seizes the chance to escape with a professor who claims to be studying chimpanzees.  Together they journey into the deep jungle to find the elusive chimps.   Luc learns the way of the jungle and the way of the chimps along side the professor until his mysterious disappearance.  The lonely Luc eventually becomes a member of the chimpanzee community and invested in keeping them safe. When faced with the choice of returning to civilization, where will Luc's heart lead him?
Schrefer's previous novel Endangered, which told the story of bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has established him as a master of the survival genre.  His deep understanding of the animal-human connection is reflected in this quote from Threatened: "The cure for cruelty is expanding the moral imagination.”


Tessa's Picks
5th-8th grade
Survival, adventure, animals,

  Sophie is on her way to visit her mother who runs a bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the summer as she does every year.  She grew up in Congo leaving when she was eight to live with her dad in America.  She has seen beauty and suffering in her birth country.  On the ride to the compound she and her friend and driver Clement, come across a baby bonobo; his captor offers him for sale.  The little ape has been abused and Sophie cannot abandon the pathetic pleading in his eyes.  Buying him she knows will anger her mother; a purchase will encourage more poaching.

With her mom’s help, Sophie begins nursing the little ape, Otto, back to health and decides to stay at sanctuary while her mom goes home for the night. Before her mother can return, armed revolution breads out and the sanctuary is attacked.  The rebels are ruthless and many are killed as they settle into the compound.  Sophie and Otto were outside the compound when the strike occurred and are able to escape. 

The journey to find her mother in a war torn country, while keeping herself and Otto safe, is a harrowing one.  Schrefer has done his research and the fascinating picture of the bonobos (with whom we share over 98% of the same DNA) who Sophie joins in the jungle in order to survive is accurate and engrossing. 

This tale of survival and animal and human connection will touch your heart.

Tessa's picks
5th-8th
Survival, animals, fast paced, adventure

Jane has been biding her time at Life House where she is being treated for attempted suicide.

She has a Plan.  She has followed all the rules and convinced the doctors that she is well on the way to recovery.  On the plane ride home to New Jersey for Christmas, she will overdose on pills and join her father who killed himself on that holiday four years ago.  Instead the plane crashed and she comes to on a mountain top in a blizzard.

There is one other survivor—Alex.  He is brave and funny and ready to jump into the challenge of getting off the mountain alive.  No small feat.  The harrowing details of their journey will have you on the edge of your seat waving away any who would distract you.  Along the way, Jane also journeys away from the brink of suicide.  As she partners with Alex she finds the strength and courage to overcome frightening obstacles physical, emotional and mental.

She must fight the wilderness for the future she suddenly wants.

Tessa's Picks
7th-8th
contempoary fiction, fast paced, issues fiction, survival

Reese was waiting in the airport when it began. First, she noticed birds plummeting out of the sky and splattering on the tarmac below. Then the news reports came in: bird strikes causing plane crashes all over the continent. She was suddenly glad that her flight was delayed. But with all the planes grounded while the crashes are investigated, Reese has to find another way home, through now-panicked towns and across the desert. It's a trip that would change her forever--and she can't even remember what happened.

Malinda Lo is a local author and the novel has a distinct San Francisco flare. I found the premise interesting, and I love how the voice of every character was really allowed to shine.  I'd give this to fans of science fiction who appreciate both action and character development. Fans of conspiracy theories and aliens will enjoy this novel in particular. 

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Erica's Picks
8th Grade
Tags: LGBTQ, People of Color, Romance, Science Fiction, Survival

When a child's eyes don't match, it means that they have been Graced.  Katsa discovered her Grace when she was eight--the day she killed a grown man with a single blow. When the king found out that she had a killing Grace, he was eager to use her to punish his enemies and scare his people into submission. Katsa hates being the King's enforcer, but she can't change her Grace, and she can't disobey a King. At least, that's what always thought until she met a boy with mismatched eyes who could hold his own in a fight against her. Soon her whole world is turned upside down and Katsa is fighting for higher stakes than ever before.

Strength, brains, integrity--Katsa has it all! The world building is excellent and the plot is action-packed without sacrificing characterization and meaty questions of morality and justice. Fans of Katniss in the Hunger Games trilogy will enjoy reading about Katsa.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Erica's Picks
6th-8th Grade
Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Fast-Paced, Romance, Survival

It is rare to find a book that engages your heart and also has it thumping from the action.  Seventeen year old Sam and his brother Riddle have been living with their thieving, murderous father all their lives.  Yet they have each other and have managed to foster a sense of integrity, honor and fierce protectiveness.
Sam, a self-taught musician takes comfort in listening to church music on Sundays.  It is there he meets the gaze of Emily who is singing the title song and nervously locks eyes with the person in the back of the church. This is a book about connections and so it begins...a love story that will have your heart cheering for this unlikely couple.
Emily, with her happy home life and wonderful parents, could not live a more polar opposite existence from Sam.  As the boys are drawn into the first loving family they have experienced, trouble lurks around the corner. Twelve year old, nearly mute, Riddle suffers from severe untreated asthma,  Emily's mom Debbie, an ER nurse, has him treated and a strong connection forms between them. Her father Tim, a professor of music, is astounded at Sam's mastery of the guitar. This strong family wii be there for them to the end.
The next part of the novel will have you gasping as the boys' father takes them and a chase across state lines ensues complete with cliffs, guns, wilderness, bears, and waterfalls.  The ending is where all the connections come together and it left me weeping with relief and delight.

I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Tessa's Picks
6th-8th Grade
Tags: Character Driven, Contemporary Fiction, Family Life, Issues Fiction, Romance, Survival