Downriver

Jessie is put out when her father forces her into a "wilderness therapy" program. He's convinced she's hanging out with the wrong crowd and is on a path to self-destruction. Jessie knows that if he would just get off her back, things would be okay. Camp is pretty lame, but things take a turn for the better when Jessie and her new friends decide to set off on their own rafting down the Colorado River. But can these kids survive the rapids without their guide?

The story, rife with adventure, explores the meaning of friendship and leadership. A group of very different kids, each with their own problems and hangups, has to work together to survive. They may or may not do so successfully. I really enjoyed this story and will look for more by show more Will Hobbs. show less

Average
The idea was better than the execution.
Hoods in the woods take to the Grand Canyon but I never got the feeling that there was danger, I never felt any connection to anybody in the book...just poorly executed.
It wasn't good enough to spend money on this book BUT I finished because I got it out of the library and it didn't cost me anything. It gets three stars because of the concept and the descriptions about rafting down the Grand Canyon were pretty amazing.

Exciting and well-written story of survival/boot-camp type kids who take off downriver. Fun read.

As an x-hoods in the wood counselor and one who worked in the Grand Canyon I found this story very fun. I teamed up with an English teacher and we taught this book together. Lots of fun and a good lead in to Geology.