Without A Paddle Meets Survivorman in This Teenage Tale of Survival & Canoeing
4.5 out of 5 stars
A group of young adults (I assume they are teenagers) are out on a weekend boating trip to celebrate the last days of summer when a freak rain storm hits and changes their plans. Without their boats and missing half of their supplies, this group of teens must find a way to survive and stay safe amidst unlikely run ins with both animals and humans. Follow these teenagers as they fight for their lives and their safety.
The narration for this audiobook was done by Keith Michaelson. I can tell that it was done by an adult reader as opposed to a more young sounding narrator, but this didn’t not take away from the book at all. Keith’s voice, inflections, and pacing were all very easy to listen to and I enjoyed his narration a lot. There weren’t too many different characters within the book, but he gave each of them a slightly different voice. Keith’s narration also added to the tension that author Chris Bostic created, instead of taking away like some narrators can.
I dove into this book quickly and I wasn’t sure where it was going to go. But within a few minutes I was hooked. I liked the main character a lot. He reminded me of the jock who knew more than you thought he did. From the get-go I wasn’t a fan of his girlfriend (and I think this was done on purpose by the author). She just felt like a fish out of water on this camping and canoeing trip. Katie was by far my favorite. I knew a lot of girls who reminded me of her and while reading I was drawn to my memories of them.
Overall the pacing of this book was good, it was fast paced while still developing the characters deeply. The characters that were meant to be the comic relief and catalysts were understood to be that, and the main characters quickly fell into step as Tom and Katie were going to be the main focus on the story. I don’t want to give away any main plot points but I was very happy with the turns that this book took.
As I stated in the title of this review, this reminded me of the movie Without A Paddle (more serious and less of a comedy) mixed with the TV show Survivorman. The teens were good at survival and I enjoyed the parts Chris sprinkled in about Scouting, but were still thrown up against some serious issues along the way. The story was light at some points and was dark in others allowing a great story arc to be completed. I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick read on a rainy afternoon. It should take you most of an afternoon but when you finish it… well that could be a game changer.
Book Description:
Teenagers. Canoes. A float trip. What could go wrong?
Tom and J.C. are experienced in the woods and on the river; the brothers, too, but Will and Nate are a couple of clowns and not so dependable. Haley, the head cheerleader, is loaded down with her makeup and accessories. Katie just looks at them all and shakes her head.
So what could go wrong?
It all starts with a summer storm and a raging river. Missing canoes. Wild animals. A venomous snake.
And it pretty much doesn’t get any better . . .
