The Explorer - Hardcover

Rundell, Katherine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1481419455 ISBN 13: 9781481419451

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017

Synopsis

“Fans of survival stories like Hatchet and My Side of the Moutain are an ideal audience for this fast-paced escapade with a lush and captivating setting.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Four kids stranded in the Amazon by a plane crash must figure out how to survive in this exciting middle grade “tropical action-filled adventure with heart” (Kirkus Reviews) from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Impossible Creatures, Katherine Rundell.

When a small plane bound for England from Manaus, Brazil, crashes in the Amazon rainforest, its four young passengers are stranded. Fred welcomes the opportunity to prove himself capable of surviving, like the explorers he admires, but his companions Constantia and Lila are terrified—and Lila’s five-year-old brother, Max, is especially vulnerable to the dangers around them.

The small group works together out of necessity, but it’s far from easy as they encounter predators like piranhas and fight hunger by foraging for edible fruits and even bugs. But when Fred finds an old map, he and his companions have a direction at last—and renewed hope. On a handmade raft, they follow a river to the destination marked on the map…and find more than they could have ever imagined.

About this title

About the Author

Katherine Rundell is the author of Rooftoppers, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms (a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner), The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer, The Good Thieves, The Zebra’s Great Escape, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Impossible Creatures and its sequels. She grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London, and is currently a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. She begins each day with a cartwheel and believes that reading is almost exactly the same as cartwheeling: it turns the world upside down and leaves you breathless. In her spare time, she enjoys walking on tightropes and trespassing on the rooftops of Oxford colleges.

Reviews

Gr 5–8—The fiery crash of a six-seater plane, following the apparent heart attack of its pilot, leaves British adolescents Fred and Con and Brazilian children Lila and her brother Max stranded in the Amazon jungle, having escaped the flames and left relatively unhurt, but with little knowledge of how to survive. Strangers to one another, the three young teens must overcome their emotional baggage and learn to cooperate in order to deal with the needs and antics of five-year-old Max. Building a raft, they intend to follow the river to Manaus using a map they find hidden in a tree, but their journey leads them to an ancient lost city and a strange man who is possibly a famous explorer who disappeared years before. The author's knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Amazon lends authenticity to the setting as the children experience both beauty and danger, pooling their own limited knowledge to build a fire, extract honey from a beehive, eat grub pancakes, watch cavorting pink dolphins, adopt a baby sloth, avoid treacherous piranhas and caimans, and face their fears and personal histories. Each character has a unique backstory and talent or special interest that contributes to his/her survival. Elegant descriptive passages and lyrical writing ("The fire made a noise like an idea being born, a roar that sounded like hope") enhance but also occasionally jar the fast-paced, often gritty narrative. VERDICT Fans of adventure novels such as Gary Paulsen's Hatchet or Willard Price's "Adventure" series (which are also favorites of Rundell) will enjoy this jam-packed survival story.—Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Explorer Flight
LIKE A MAN-MADE MAGIC wish, the Airplane began to rise.

The boy sitting in the cockpit gripped his seat and held his breath as the plane roared and climbed into the arms of the sky. Fred’s jaw was set with concentration, and his fingers followed the movements of the pilot beside him: fuel gauge, throttle, joystick.

The airplane vibrated as it flew faster, following the swerve of the Amazon River below them. Fred could see the reflection of the six-seater plane, a spot of black on the vast sweep of blue as it sped toward Manaus, the city on the water. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and pressed his forehead against the window.

Behind Fred sat a girl and her little brother. They had the same slanted eyebrows and the same brown skin, the same long eyelashes. The girl had been shy, hugging her parents until the last possible moment at the airfield; now she was staring down at the water, singing under her breath. Her brother was trying to eat his seat belt.

In the next row, on her own, sat a pale girl with blond hair down to her waist. Her blouse had a neck ruffle that came up to her chin, and she kept tugging it down and grimacing. She was determinedly not looking out the window.

The airfield they had just left had been dusty and almost deserted, just a strip of tarmac under the ferocious Brazilian sun. Fred’s cousin had insisted that he wear his school uniform, and now, inside the hot airless cabin, Fred felt like he was being gently cooked inside his own skin.

The engine gave a whine, and the pilot frowned and tapped the joystick. He was old and soldierly, with brisk nostril hair and a gray waxed mustache that seemed to reject the usual laws of gravity. He touched the throttle, and the plane soared upward, higher into the clouds.

It was almost dark when Fred first began to worry. The pilot began to belch, first quietly, then violently and repeatedly. His hand gave a sudden jerk, and the plane dipped drunkenly to the left. Someone screamed behind Fred. The plane lurched away from the river and over the canopy.

Fred stared at the man; he was turning the same shade of gray as his mustache. “Are you all right, sir?” he asked.

The pilot grunted, gasped, and wound back the throttle, slowing the engine. He gave a cough that sounded like a choke.

“Is there something I can do?” asked Fred.

Fighting for breath, the pilot shook his head. He reached over to the control panel and cut the engine. The roar ceased. The nose of the plane dipped downward. The trees rose up.

“What’s happening?” asked the blond girl sharply. “What’s he doing? Make him stop!”

The little boy in the back began to shriek. The pilot grasped Fred’s wrist, hard, for a single moment; then his head slumped against the dashboard.

And the sky, which had seconds before seemed so reliable, gave way.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1481419455
• ISBN 13: 9781481419451
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336