Off the map

Two former friends must work together to survive after getting lost in this gritty, briskly paced adventure by Hashimoto (The Trail). Spirited and headstrong 13-year-old Marlo is preparing for a four-day canoe trip, during which she will travel down 150 miles of the Yukon River with her river guide mother and her dog, Cheerio. Though she's excited for the trip, it's the first one she's taken since her father left two months ago, which Marlo blames herself for. Her feelings surrounding the trip grow more complicated when Marlo and her mother are joined by Marlo's former best friend Amos and his father. What starts as a straightforward route gets derailed due to Amos and Marlo's communication struggles. Soon the tweens, who are sharing a canoe, get separated from their parents. Now they must confront the reasons behind their crumbling friendship and work together if they hope to survive the Alaskan wilderness. Via vividly detailed prose and a propulsive plot, Hashimoto depicts the harsh realities of surviving in nature. Safety tips, such as boiling river water to sanitize it and the importance of having a first-aid kit, feature throughout, providing foreshadowing and heightening the tension. Ages 8--12. Agent: Chelsea Eberly, Greenhouse Literary. (Nov.)

Former best friends forced to share a canoe find themselves lost in the Alaskan wilderness. Narrator Marlo and her BFF, Amos, haven't been on speaking terms for nearly a month, so both are unpleasantly surprised to discover that their oblivious parents have planned a four-day family trip down the Yukon River together. The rugged outdoors gives them little time to stew, though. Accompanied by Marlo's big, affectionate dog, Cheerio, who often takes center stage, the kids soon paddle down a branching stream and lose touch with the grown-ups. As they face a sudden waterfall and a relentless onslaught of other natural hazards, they realize that they must cooperate--their very existence depends on it. Days pass, and without a radio or phones to call for help, the pair must rely on their untried survival skills. Hashimoto describes all of this, along with the kids' gear, in enough specific detail to hook readers no matter how much, or how little, experience they have with camping. Her exploration of Marlo and Amos' conflict--the way the two circle around the cause of their rift and their eventual frank discussions of what happened and what each now expects from the other--could serve as good models for readers with longtime friendships that are undergoing changes. Physical descriptions are minimal. A taut survival adventure, featuring a scene-stealing dog as well as lives and a close friendship in the balance.(Fiction. 10-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.