About This Book:
Another WILD adventure from Rodman Philbrick, author of Wildfireand Wild River. When two kids become trapped in the aftermath of a tsunami, they must figure out a way to find help. It’s kids vs. nature in another edge-of-your seat read!
When a tsunami heads for the coast, Nick Chase and Jess Hardy must run. They make it into the woods above the bay–only to witness the sea flooding their neighborhood along the shore. Destroying everything.
In the broken landscape that’s left behind, the two must try to find their way to safety. But when they come across a stranded elderly couple, it’s up to Nick and Jess to work together and get help so that they can all make it out alive.
This is another gripping environmental survival story from the Newbery Honor author of Wildfire and Wild River.
*Review Contributed by Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer*
Nick Chase, who struggles in school, is spending his Saturday at the Cape Courage, New Jersey shore on a Friends of the Wild Tour so that he can put together a podcast for school. The docent is a girl his age, Jess, who wants to be a big animal vet when she grows up. The tour has just covered some of the rescue animals, like bobcats, that are being rehabilitated when the animals become extremely agitated and all of the water empties out of the bay. Jess and Nick know this is a bad sign and run for higher ground as quickly as they can. They get a decent distance away, but when they see water coming for them, they manage to get hold of an uprooted tree, on which one of the bobcats is also riding! They travel further from shore across the ruined pines trees, but get sucked back towards the shore as the water recedes. It starts to rain, and they assess their supplies and injuries. Nick’s mother was at the store, but his father was out on the Finn Chaser, his fishing boat. Jess’ mom and stepfather were both at their house, which is on higher ground, and the kids hope that their parents are all alive. As they are trying to figure out where to go, they hear an air horn and find a small boat. On it is Mrs. Bumper, their science teacher who is nearing retirement, and her husband Bill, a popular soccer coach. Mrs. Bumper tells them that the ruined pine forest is a danger because of the threat of fire, but Bill has sprained his ankle, so they can’t leave. Because Mrs. Bumper is diabetic, she wants to send Jess and Nick back to the town to get help. To get their GPS location, they have to get high enough to catch a signal, and it’s a harrowing experience as both Bill and Nick, who is afraid of heights, try to climb trees. Once they have the location, the couple get the kids supplied with food and equipment and send them on their way. Nick slides into a sinkhole, but Jess saves him with rope. There’s a timber snake that is a bit of a threat, but it’s eaten by the bobcat that is following them, hoping that humans will lead it to food. They thwart an army of rats by distracting them with a peanut butter sandwich, and deal with aftershocks, rain, and blocked paths. When they finally make it near to the town, they find the abandoned Finn Chaser, and encounter looters who are trying to claim it and try to lock the kids in the cabin. Luckily, their bobcat companion attacks the looters, and Jess and Nick are able to get help from the National Guard. The town suffered devastating losses, with 300 people dying, but all of the parents are okay, with Nick’s mother being gravely injured but being well on the road to recovery a year later.
Good Points
Like the other (unrelated) books in this series, Wild Fire and Wild River, this is an excellent and exciting outdoor survival adventure. There is plenty of good information about survival techniques, and I now want to have a survival backpack firmly attached to me at all time. You just never know. Jess and Nick are different people, but work well together as they face daunting challenges. The Bumpers (who must be my age!) are great characters; upbeat, prepared, comforting, and resilient. They add a level of comfort to an otherwise bleak and scary book. There’s plenty of action and suspense, as well as a happy ending. This is a perfect lenghth and fast-paced.
There is a nice note at the end of the book about tsunamis, but I would have liked to see more information about whether a tsunami has ever hit New Jersey. Young readers will think that this book is like Tarshis’ I Survived series and based on real events, but I suspect it is not.
Outdoor survival books continue to be popular in my library; I even dusted off both copies of George’s 1959 My Side of the Mountain and checked them out recently! Philbrick’s The Big Dark has a dystopian feel to it, but I love this whole series of “Wild” adventures. This is a must purchase for elementary and middle school libraries where Johnson’s Survival Diaries or other outdoor survival books are popular.
*Find More Info & Buy This Book HERE!*
