Stay Alive #1: Crash
When a plane carrying the cast of a teen adventure show, Team Jump, crashes in the Alaskan wilderness, they learn to work together in order to survive. Confronted with limited supplies and dropping temperatures, they have to decide whether to wait for rescue or strike out in search of help, and tensions build as their isolation and the harsh surroundings begin to take their toll. This is a book for thrill seekers who like real-world, believable adventures. In a nice tweak, survival tips kick off each section and are then applied in the following action. There is no central character, as the story is told by shifting voices among the survivors; consequently, the narrative offers a rounded perspective but little in the way of character development. However, the stranded-group scenario offers a change of pace from the typical lone-survivor tale. This is the first in the Stay Alive series; expect more no-nonsense adventures where survival is at stake. Grades 4-7. --Julia Smith