Wild River

January 25, 2021
Newbery Honoree Philbrick twines a heartfelt message about teamwork and forgiveness with realistic dangers in this page-turning survival story. As part of a leadership project, rising sixth grader Daniel Redmayne is chosen to go whitewater rafting in Montana with four of his New Hampshire classmates. “Not a likely pick for anything,” quiet, pale-skinned Daniel isn’t sure why he was selected for this group, but he welcomes a break from sharing a room with his three younger brothers, even if it means having to open up to his raft mates: obnoxious Deke and sidekick Tony, who are white; confident Mia, who is Latinx; and reserved Imana, who is Black. When the planned-upon river turns out to be dry, though, the two adult guides change course, driving 100 miles to Montana’s Crazy River without communicating the change. Disaster strikes immediately, separating the kids from their guardians with only a backpack of emergency supplies. Though Daniel’s bipolar father is insensitively referred to as having “been in your own crazy river,” a battle for power keeps the tension high, as do plenty of twists and cliffhangers, which create enough uncertainty to keep the pages turning. Ages 9–12.

December 15, 2020
Disaster overtakes a group of sixth graders on a leadership-building white-water rafting trip. Deep in the Montana wilderness, a dam breaks, and the resultant rush sweeps away both counselors, the rafts, and nearly all the supplies, leaving five disparate preteens stranded in the wilderness far from where they were expected to be. Narrator Daniel is a mild White kid who's resourceful and good at keeping the peace but given to worrying over his mentally ill father. Deke, also White, is a determined bully, unwilling to work with and relentlessly taunting the others, especially Mia, a Latina, who is a natural leader with a plan. Tony, another White boy, is something of a friendly follower and, unfortunately, attaches himself to Deke while Imani, a reserved African American girl, initially keeps her distance. After the disaster, Deke steals the backpack with the remaining food and runs off with Tony, and the other three resolve to do whatever it takes to get it back, eventually having to confront the dangerous bully. The characters come from a variety of backgrounds but are fairly broadly drawn; still, their breathlessly perilous situation keeps the tale moving briskly forward, with one threatening situation after another believably confronting them. As he did with Wildfire (2019), Newbery Honoree Philbrick has crafted another action tale for young readers that's impossible to put down. Readers will need to strap on their helmets and prepare for a wild ride. (Fiction. 10-12)

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July 1, 2021
Somehow, Daniel Redmayne, a pale, skinny sixth grader with glasses, is selected for a "Project Future Leaders" whitewater rafting adventure in Montana, involving five kids and two adult supervisors. The tone is set on day one, when the leaders decide to abandon their planned destination and head instead for the (ominously named) Crazy River. However, the group's phone isn't working, and no one at home base knows where they are. That night, after they've made camp, a nearby dam breaks, the river floods, the adults are washed away, and the quest for survival begins. Like characters in a downriver Lord of the Flies, the kids divide into two warring parties, one side attacks with sharpened sticks, and the social contract is abandoned. It's not exactly survival of the fittest, though, as Daniel is hardly the rugged type, but he finds that "having two wicked smart, courageous girls for friends is totally great." As demonstrated in Wildfire (rev. 9/19), Philbrick is a master of the fast-paced easy read adventure story, keeping the sentences short and the action verbs plentiful. Daniel's first-person narration is divided into seven days and recounts how mountain lions, bears, a bully, hunger, and death stalk the group. The simple-seeming story raises moral questions that might get readers pondering big ideas. What is the nature of right? What is a hero? Can a lie be a good thing? The back matter includes survival tips (best read before heading out to the river).

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