Death Mountain by Sherry Shahan

Title: Death Mountain
Author: Sherry Shahan
ISBN: 9781561454280, Peachtree Publishers, 2007
Genre: Young Adult, Survival
Rating: B

First Line: Erin kicked a rusty bottle cap across the two-lane highway in front of the bus station.

Erin's not overly upset when her bus ticket is stolen. She didn't really want to visit her mother in the first place. She hitches a ride with Levi and Mae, a brother and sister planning a short hike in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The hiking trail is crowded when disaster strikes: a deadly storm hits. Amid lightning strikes and torrential rain, everyone runs for safety, and Erin and Mae find themselves separated from everyone else.

In the days to come, Erin has to use all the survival skills her grandmother taught her to keep Mae and herself going. Are the two young girls going to make it back before their luck runs out?

Based on an actual event in author Sherry Shahan's life, Death Mountain is a swiftly paced and engaging read. It's interesting to see the power shifts and personality differences between Erin and Mae as they make their way down the mountain. The relationship between Erin and her grandmother (shown in flashbacks) is a very close and special one, and I liked seeing how the older woman kept trying to reconcile her daughter and granddaughter.

But it's not all interpersonal relationships on Death Mountain; there are lots of adventures and survival tips. One of the things I liked most in reading this book after such books as Hatchet and The River was the fact that this time it was two young girls lost in the wilderness trying to find their way to safety. Why let the boys have all the fun?

[Review copy from author. Thank you, Sherry!]

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Title: Hatchet
Author: Gary Paulsen
ISBN: 0689826990, Simon Pulse, 1999
Genre: Young Adult fiction
Rating: A

First Line: Brian Robeson stared out the window of the small plane at the endless green northern wilderness below.

Thirteen-year-old Brian's parents have just gotten divorced. Brian lives with his mother in New York State, and is allowed to stay with his father, who works in the Canadian oil fields, during the summer. This will be his first summer with his father, and Brian's mother sees him off at the airport, giving him a gift that he feels is a bit silly: a hatchet.

Flying in the small plane takes some getting used to; it's very noisy, it's cramped, and at first the pilot doesn't talk very much. After a while, the pilot does begin to talk with Brian and even lets him take control of the plane for a bit. Then the absolute worst possible scenario occurs: the pilot has a massive heart attack and dies, leaving Brian at the controls of an aircraft that he really doesn't know how to fly.

Brian survives the crash, and then realizes that the plane has flown so far off course that he probably won't be found any time soon. He now has to survive the Canadian wilderness. He's a kid, and he does wallow in self-pity, but not for long. Brian isn't a typical soft city kid. Somehow he's able to put together bits and pieces of things he's learned in school, and he's able to carve out a place for himself on the shore of a remote lake. He takes pride in each accomplishment, as well he should. But the longer he lived in his lakeside home, the more nervous I got. Summers don't last all that long in Canada.

This was a captivating read, and I can understand why it was a Newbery Honor Book in 1988. Paulsen had me on the shore of that lake right at Brian's side. I was slapping mosquitoes and taking pride in Brian's level-headedness and ability to survive. If you're looking for a quick read that's well-written and puts you right in the middle of the action, Hatchet is an excellent choice.

Gary Paulsen's life is as interesting as the books he's written. In reading about the author, I learned that there are a whole series of books about Brian. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you see reviews for more of Paulsen's work here at Kittling: Books!