Tag: survival

REVIEW: Enjoy the View by Sarah Morgenthaler

REVIEW: Enjoy the View by Sarah Morgenthaler

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

River Lane’s fledgling career as a producer and director depends on getting this documentary right. But the residents of Moose Springs, Alaska, couldn’t be less cooperative. She can’t get the permits she needs to film, and the townspeople keep selling her out to local law enforcement who runs them off every time.

Easton Lockett thought he was offering to help a stranded tourist when he offered River a ride. How could he possibly know he was “ruining the shot?” But the actress-turned-director is captivating. Before he knows it, Easton is leading River and her crew on a climb of Mount Vail for their documentary.

No matter how many times Easton warns the group about the dangers of the climb, reality will catch River and her group off guard. And the challenges they face could push each of them to their limits.

Review

This was so awesome! There’s more suspense in this book with the frozen mountain climbing adventure than in the previous books in the series. But there’s also a sweet budding romance that’s delightful to watch. And  SO MUCH HUMOR! This is one of the few series labeled “romantic comedy” that actually delivers on that promise for me. This book made me laugh, out loud and often!

I think newcomers could start with this book, which is the third in the series, without much trouble. There are references to the couples from the other books, but I think readers can enjoy this without having those connections. But after reading this, I think you’ll want to read The Tourist Attraction (♥♥♥♥♥) and Mistletoe and Mr. Right (♥♥♥½).

Easton has been something of a mystery in the earlier books – the burly, silent mountain man. But now that he’s had a book of his own, I think he and his twin sister are my favorite characters in the series. I loved him with River, too. There’s a lovely lack of lying or secrets in this story, which can make for great conflict in a book, but also gets old for me. The mountain in this book makes for plenty of conflict all by itself.

This is a must-read series for me. While book 2’s characters didn’t click for me like in book 1 and this book, I still love the Moose Springs setting and the community in the whole series. And when I feel the need for a laugh, I know this series will always deliver. Be sure to check out the Moose Springs, Alaska series.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: Cleo Porter and the Body Electric by Jake Burt

REVIEW: Cleo Porter and the Body Electric by Jake Burt

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

In May 2096, Cleo Porter and her parents are living in an apartment – like pretty much everyone else. Every apartment is sealed and secured. Supplies are delivered by drone. And no one leaves. It was the way the world became safe from influenza D.

The problem is that a drone has delivered a package of life-saving medication to Cleo’s apartment. By mistake. If the medication doesn’t get to the right person in time, she could die. Cleo plans to be a doctor when she grows up. In fact, she is preparing for her first major exam to get into the training program. She feels like this woman is already her patient. And she can’t let her die without trying to help.

After Cleo exhausts her ideas for finding a solution from the inside of her home, she decides she’ll have to leave it – its safety and security, her parents, and everything she knows – to try to get the medication to the right person.

Review

Believe it or not, this book existed before we had even heard the term “Covid-19.” But the publication process meant the book didn’t get into the hands of readers until fall of 2020, when many folks had already had their fill of quarantines and masks and such. Thankfully, this novel takes place far in the future from the novel’s own pandemic. In fact, the culture in the book “solved” their pandemic with extreme lockdown measures. I believe things are different enough for readers to be able to enjoy this and not let Covid dampen their enthusiasm for a high stakes, futuristic adventure. But there will be some kids who will want a different sort of escape these days. (There are questions raised about what the “proper” response to a pandemic should be, so readers may have questions about those pieces of the story.)

Cleo’s a great protagonist – bright, empathetic, brave, and determined. The author does a great job of giving Cleo of “team” of sorts as she negotiates her escape so she isn’t entirely alone or in her own head for the action of the story. I felt for Cleo at the resolution of her quest. There are a lot of complicated feelings for her to explore, and I liked that. As an adult, I wanted MORE at that point, but I think the focus on the adventure and the closing scene will be satisfying for most readers in the intended age group.  I also wanted more details about the future for Cleo – what happens “after?” But the glimpse we are given is satisfying.

Hand this to fans of the author (Greetings from Witness Protection, The Right Hook of Devin Velma, The Tornado) as well as readers who love middle grade survival stories, adventure, and science fiction.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

REVIEW: What the Other Three Don't Know by Spencer Hyde

REVIEW: What the Other Three Don’t Know by Spencer Hyde

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Shadow Mountain in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

It was luck of the draw that Indie ended up on the rafting trip. The senior journalism students were randomly assigned to an adventure opportunity for their “Summer Scoop” project. And at the end, they would write about one of the people they got to know on the trip.

It was the first time Indiana had left her grandfather since her mom died two years ago. On a rafting trip. On this very river. Indie would rather be at home, but it was a school assignment. And she cared about this journalism course and the instructor. And her grandfather and therapist thought the trip would do her good.

Indie knows the three other kids on the trip. Skye hasn’t been around for the last year. Indie hadn’t heard why, but the prosthetic leg is probably part of that story. Wyatt lives in a trailer near Indie’s grandfather. He’s an amazing artist – and a “prepper.” That could be a good thing on an outdoorsy trip, although from the start he seems to only care about antagonizing the others. Shelby is a social media influencer who’s unhappy to be cut off from her phone for five days.

This isn’t the trip Indie would have chosen for herself. But, as she’s learned in her grief, there’s no way out but through. She can get away from this group only by finishing this trip. So she takes her place on the river, braced for whatever will come.

Review

Readers who enjoy outdoor adventure/survival stories will enjoy this journey with Indie and the other teens. There’s tons of rafting, camping, fishing, and climbing details for fans to enjoy. That’s really not my style, though, when it comes to stories. I chose this one more for the interpersonal journey of the four students.

Indie tells the story, and there’s a lot of her internal processing in this book. I think I might have clicked with this more if each kid told part of the adventure. But the focus of this is less on the ensemble and more on Indie and her journey as well as her history with their guide. There’s a lot here about grief and forgiveness, so Indie had to be the one to tell the story. I found there to be too much inner processing for my preference. It felt out of balance with the action and the interactions in the book.

Some of the themes in the book are: identity, secrets, grief, truth, forgiveness. And there’s plenty here for readers to dig into as each of the other three teens reveals something to the group that others don’t know. They move from rumors and assumptions about each other to being seen and known. And those pieces kept me engaged through the story.

Rating: ♥♥♥

REVIEW: The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty

REVIEW: The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Elle’s grandfather is a “prepper,” a survivalist. He is always prepared for a disaster or catastrophe. And he’s trained Elle and her younger brothers to be ready for unexpected disaster at any time. All three kids have go bags full of ready-to-eat meals, first aid supplies, etc.. Elle’s getting older, though, and she finds most of the survivalist stuff eye-rollingly dull. But her brothers still find the drills fun, and Elle’s best friend Mack thinks the whole thing is fascinating.

On a search for end-of-the-world memes to share with her grandfather, Elle stumbles across a website that says the world will end next spring due to an asteroid strike. She’s appropriately skeptical. But when she finds out the author of the web post is a professor at Harvard, and she researches other asteroid hits, Elle starts to wonder if the guy is onto something.

When other kids at school overhear Elle and Mack talking about “TEOTWAWKI” (The End of the World As We Know It), they beg for more information and check out the website for themselves. Before long, Elle finds herself leading a club of kids who want to know how to prepare for the asteroid strike and the end of the world.

Review

Elle grew on me over the course of this book. By the end I was quite attached to her, and my heart broke for her as things played out at the end of the story.

On one level this is Elle’s story. It’s about her family dynamics and her school experiences. It’s about her friendships and her protective abrasiveness. On another level you get all the science and survival bits along with information on screening internet sources. I was intrigued by the asteroid information shared. There’s a good chunk of back matter in this about asteroids and the author’s research.

I think this would be an excellent class read-aloud or book club book. How do readers see Elle’s choices for informing her peers about the impending doom? Are there things they are as passionate about as Elle? So many threads of the story students can dig into! And reading this with support will ensure some kids who might not otherwise get it understand Elle’s devotion to her cause. I thoroughly enjoyed how the author pulled everything together in the end.

Fans of the extraordinary The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl (like me!) should not miss the author’s latest work. If you aren’t a fan of either title yet, be sure to check them both out!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Survive or Die by Catherine Dilts

REVIEW: Survive or Die by Catherine Dilts

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Aubrey Sommers thought she was going on a romantic getaway with her husband, Grant. Things had been strained lately, and she was wondering how long their marriage could hold out. But then Grant invited her on this surprise trip. They sent their kids to stay with grandparents. It was going to be a magical week.

The surprise, though, was the fact that it was a mandatory work trip for Grant at a wilderness camp. The camp once hosted the defunct reality show Survive or Die. Grant’s boss is using the camp for a survival-of-the-fittest contest where the winner gets a raise and the loser gets fired. No wonder someone left a death threat on the guy’s car. Great vacation!

Things don’t get much better for Aubrey. While Grant is apologetic about his deception, he says he really wants Aubrey there. But he prioritizes the game and his job over her every time there’s a choice to be made. She’s stuck on the “leftovers” team while she watches another woman try to make inroads with her husband.

But her week is going better than Stewart’s. His wife just found him dead at the camp.

Review

Early on I wasn’t sure about this one. There are a TON of characters – almost too many to track, especially at the start. Then there are several point-of-view characters. This is essential with a cast this large and a setting this vast, but it made it hard to know early on who I was supposed to track as the “sleuth” for this mystery.

But this evolved into a great story with some crazy developments and even crazier twists. The survival story alone kept me turning pages – what a disaster these poor people were dumped into! Add to that an early attack/murder that no one noticed and then Stewart’s death which seems to be an accident. So the reader knows *something* is going on, but you aren’t sure what. The questions and the twists and the business pieces and the backstabbing keep growing and getting more convoluted as the story goes on. It got the the point where I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know what was going on!

I’m a character-driven reader. And this book is full of unique, quirky characters. I didn’t really get attached to any particular ones. I stuck with this book because of the plot moreso than seeing what happened to any particular characters. But the main 6 or so were fascinating to watch as they negotiated the dilapidated survival camp, the dangerous tasks, and the interpersonal tensions. If you like intricate stories with lots of quirky characters in challenging circumstances, don’t miss this one. It was a wild ride!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥