August 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-A violent nighttime storm in Colorado's Weminuche Wilderness area decimates a campsite where four juvenile offenders and two counselors are participating in a wilderness therapy program. Santiago "Santi" Rivas and his antagonistic tentmate, Victor West, become airborne in their tent and tumble down the mountain in windswept darkness. They find the junior counselor, Amelia, injured in the mudslide, and the threesome set out to find help an estimated 18 miles away. The inhospitable terrain impedes the trio's progress as they cope with injuries, a lack of supplies, and evidence of mountain lions. This "man vs. nature" conflict drives the plot and fuels tension among the emotionally troubled young people. Chapters flash back to family dynamics that shaped each character, such as Santi's disengaged guardian in a gang-ridden neighborhood, Victor's controlling stepfather who used his wealth to intimidate, and Amelia's nomadic family who moved her from school to school, causing her feel as if she didn't belong. Behavioral motivations come to fruition in the final chapters because Victor is harboring a secret that changes the group dynamic; its resolution becomes the ending's focus, leaving readers to speculate about their fate. Outdoorsy teens will appreciate the realistic hiking and camping takeaways, such as wearing good shoes and being able to read a map, stake a tent, or splint an injured limb. VERDICT An additional purchase for where survival fiction is popular.-Vicki Reutter, State University of New York at Cortland

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2017
Seeking to avoid jail time, 16-year-old Santi Rivas agrees to a backpacking trip with a wilderness-therapy program in the mountains of Colorado. The diverse group includes Victor, rich, "gigantic asshole," Celeste, a purple-haired girl who revels in her dysfunction, and Rico, a rebel with a smart mouth. Led by the earnest but clueless Jerry and Amelia, who is nursing pain of her own, the six travel deep into the woods. Bears and mountain lions are an ever present danger, but the rage and pain each feels are the real monsters. Chapters alternate between the campers' current struggles and the events that led up to their participation in the trip. Santi begins, cataloging his painful childhood and his devotion to his sister. Victor continues the story, telling of the dark side of wealth. The tale finishes with Amelia, determined to find her inner warrior. Authentic, foulmouthed teen dialogue and a tone-sensitive treatment of different life experiences make this a positive story for personal ---growth and positive change. Santi is Latinx, though racial and ethnic markers for other characters are slim. While sexual double-entendre is realistically pervasive in the teens' exchanges, it never feels forced or gratuitous. An awkward ending is the only major misstep. Danger is within and without for teens backpacking through the wilderness. (Adventure. 13-16)

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September 15, 2017
Grades 9-12 Voorhees (In Too Deep, 2013) places his cast in the Bear Canyon Wilderness Therapy Program, and they aren't out of the woods yet. Literally. Santiago, Rico, Celeste, and Victor all have their own problems and have been sent or volunteered to go through the program with the help of their leaders, Jerry and Amelia. Everything is going as well as possible, considering they all have to survive the elements, when disaster strikes. Santiago, Amelia, and Victor all must learn to trust one another and get out of the wild, but Victor has an ulterior motive that could lead to them dying. Told in close third person and split into three narratives, this is a survival story that grips the reader until the very end. Voorhees tells each character's backstory by alternating between past and present without muddling the reader with random characters or wilderness lessons. Thrilling, suspenseful, and fast-paced, this is an on-the-edge-of-your-seat read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
Santiago, Victor, and Amelia, teens involved in a wilderness therapy program for juvenile offenders, find themselves bound together following a catastrophic storm. Gritty scenes of surviving through dangerous elements and among threatening animal predators are intercut with flashbacks that show each character's past mistakes. A clumsy and unrealistic ending is a misstep in an otherwise suspenseful wilderness thriller.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

"A violent nighttime storm in Colorado's Weminuche Wilderness area decimates a campsite where four juvenile offenders and two counselors are participating in a wilderness therapy program. Santiago 'Santi' Rivas and his antagonistic tentmate, Victor West, become airborne in their tent and tumble down the mountain in windswept darkness. They find the junior counselor, Amelia, injured in the mudslide, and the threesome set out to find help an estimated 18 miles away. The inhospitable terrain impedes the trio's progress as they cope with injuries, a lack of supplies, and evidence of mountain lions. This 'man vs. nature' conflict drives the plot and fuels tension among the emotionally troubled young people. Chapters flash back to family dynamics that shaped each character, such as Santi's disengaged guardian in a gang-ridden neighborhood, Victor's controlling stepfather who used his wealth to intimidate, and Amelia's nomadic family who moved her from school to school, causing her feel as if she didn't belong. Behavioral motivations come to fruition in the final chapters because Victor is harboring a secret that changes the group dynamic; its resolution becomes the ending's focus, leaving readers to speculate about their fate. Outdoorsy teens will appreciate the realistic hiking and camping takeaways, such as wearing good shoes and being able to read a map, stake a tent, or splint an injured limb. VERDICT An additional purchase for where survival fiction is popular."—School Library Journal