"They had been in a plane crash. Their plane had crashed, torn itself apart, and they had survived .... For now."
"There would be no rescue party, he was certain of that now. He'd already sensed they might have a long wait, but unless someone had actually see or heard their plane cutting through the early morning dark, they might as well have vanished off the face of the earth. Right now, they would have become a mystery, filling news bulletins all over the world. But this was the reality of that mystery--most of them were dead, and the survivors would have no choice but to find their own way out of this vast and undoubtedly hostile jungle."My thoughts: You know I love disaster/survival novels and When We Were Lost by Kevin Wignall is a good one. It centers around a bunch of teenagers from the same high school who aren't exactly friends... until their plane crashes in a remote jungle and they are forced to band together in order to survive. Tom is the outsider. He's not okay with blindly following orders from anyone else because he has his own ideas on how to survive. I liked him a lot. He's quiet, self-effacing and definitely not interested in being designated the leader of their group. But others keep looking to him for what they should do next...and he really doesn't want anyone else to die because of his own inaction. So in a way, besides being a story of survival, this is also a coming of age story.
The jungle itself has many hazards: snakes and other predators, rough terrain, sweltering heat and a lack of clean water, as well as other hidden dangers. But the greatest threat of all may be from the other people in their group. This YA novel is well-written, has great pacing, and I thought the teens themselves were well-drawn and believable. I liked Barney, the smart nerdy kid, and Alice and Kate, two fiercely independent girls who aren't afraid to speak their minds. Then there's George. And Shen. So many characters to like. Parts of the story did feel a little predictable, and I could have totally done without the prologue and epilogue (I didn't think either added to the story). But overall, I'd give this one 4 stars.
Happy Reading!
Sounds like a good read. It's usually the people who are the scariest under such circumstances, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSadly true. :)
DeleteMy hand is up. :) Love a good YA book and a survival story.
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for survival stories. :)
DeleteGreat review and it sounds really good. Makes me think of the classic line in The Walking Dead - "Don't fear the dead, fear the living."
ReplyDeleteExactly! :)
DeleteSounds like a good YA novel. I read YA every so often and I'm sometimes surprised at the way I get sucked into the story despite the fact that I'm not the target audience.
ReplyDeleteA good YA novel does suck you in no matter your age. :)
DeleteWow, getting thrown together after something like that would be hard. Sounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it. :)
DeleteThis sounds like a great survival story. I've gotta see if my library has this one. :)
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed! 'Cause it's a fun read.
DeleteI can't imagine being forced to survive with a bunch of people I didn't really like. Yikes, my introverted self is cringing so hard!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be awful? At least in the book Tom finds a few people he does like.
DeleteYup, other people are the biggest threat to humans...way more than the elements! Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ruthiella! You're sweet. :)
DeleteOh this sounds fun. Survival plus coming of age is like catnip haha. I can see this being pretty good!
ReplyDeleteI think you might like it. :)
DeleteThe cover is very eyecatching. If this wasn't YA I'd be all over it!
ReplyDeleteI don't read a lot of YA either, but this one was good. :)
DeleteOh, good! I've been looking forward to this one, so I'm glad it's worth the read. I'll definitely be getting to it soon.
ReplyDeleteIt was the characters that really made me like this one. :)
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