I sleep fitfully, waking again and again in the dark morning hours to insects burrowing beneath my sweatshirt. The worst part is that I have to look at them in the firelight, hairy legs, twitching antennae, stingers and pincers, to make sure they’re not deadly before I brush them away. Some sting, some don’t. They’re all repulsive. When Gus leaps to his feet, shakes out his shirt, shivers in revulsion, I’m glad. He sees me watching in the flickering light, hesitates like he’s considering coming over, trying to talk. I turn my back. He can spoon with my dad since he likes him so much.
The rains start like someone flipped a light switch. Rivulets find their way through the piled palm fronds. Each time I shift, another drips on me. It’s like water torture. Sometime before dawn, the switch flips again and the rains stop. Without the steady patter of water, I can hear Cass sniffling. She’s sitting at the edge of our shelter by the fire, feeding it with branches and pages from Jupiter’s book to keep it going. I’m furious at her. Beyond furious. I crawl over. “What’s up?”
Danny Warren would do anything to be closer to the father who left her life after an accident left her with only one eye. She’s watched every episode of his adventure show, and is sure his invite to star with a teen movie idol will be the ticket to the relationships her mother kept her from having with her father.
Official synopsis:
When her dad calls with an offer to join him to film the next episode of his popular survivalist show, Danny jumps at the chance to prove she’s not the disappointment he left behind. Being on set with the hottest teen movie idol of the moment, Gus Price, should be the cherry on top. But when their small plane crashes in the Amazon, and a terrible secret is revealed, Danny must face the truth about the parent she worships and falling for Gus, and find her own inner strength and worth to light the way home.
A life-or-death adventure really brings out the best—and worst—in people. The beginning of the story was full of foreshadowing about nothing going quite the way Danny and her dad expected them to go. While Danny’s obsession with her dad’s show was certainly never healthy, when wildlife survival skills were needed, all the knowledge she had gleaned from just trying to get to know her dad saved her life, and others.
The characters who continued through the story showed dramatic evolution between their public personas, or who they even planned to be, and who they really were, when their lives boiled down to only survival.
Overall, the story and setting were fascinating, and the book earned 5 out of 5 stars. Those who enjoy books with engaging and varied characters, action/adventure stories, and rainforest or wildlife survival stories will love this one.
{click here to purchase via my Amazon Affiliates link}
Becki Bayley is a wife and mother who enjoys nature from the safety of her porch, with pretty birds, butterflies, and even snakes, but no biting or stinging creepy-crawlies. Check out the delightful view from her porch on Instagram, where she posts as SweetlyBSquared.
0 comments:
Post a Comment