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RIVER THUNDER

Name: RIVER THUNDER
Author: Will Hobbs
ISBN: 0-385-32316-6

by Will Hobbs ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1997

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Hobbs (Ghost Canoe, p. 557, etc.) reunites the characters of Downriver (1991) for this rapids-shooting adventure. Jessie and her adopted sister, Star, tough-talking Rita, macho man Pug, and later, wisecracking Adam all arrive ready to raft down the Grand Canyon's Colorado River, presumably at the invitation of Al, a tour outfitter; unfortunately, when the handsome and charismatic Troy also shows up, the teens discover that they've all been duped. Troy seeks to make amends for ruining their rafting the previous year, and so has made all the arrangements and paid for the group to go downriver again. Wary at first, the teens agree, and in no time they're shooting through curlers, suckholes, and rooster tails in a pulse-pounding narrative. Jessie, despite her fear, steers a raft down the river's 160 rapids in record-high water caused by a rough winter and careless management of damn spillage. Hobbs's familiarity with whitewater rafting provides authenticity, and while this bunch knows their sport, they nevertheless wind up in the soup more than once. While the crisis point of the novel seems a bit too altruistic—the neurotic Troy follows his better impulses and saves Rita from drowning—the story of these disparate youths coming together for an adventure that risks their lives and strengthens their hearts is ultimately uplifting. (Fiction. 12-14)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-385-32316-6

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1997

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
CITY OF GOLD
by Will Hobbs

- BOOK REVIEW
NEVER SAY DIE
by Will Hobbs

- BOOK REVIEW
TAKE ME TO THE RIVER
by Will Hobbs

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THE BURNING BABY

AND OTHER GHOSTS

by John Gordon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1993

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Five macabre tales of murder or suicide victims returning to exact gruesome retribution: Bernard conceals the body of the pregnant local teenager he's killed beneath a huge bonfire, only to have a ``Burning Baby'' crawl out of the fire's heart and into his lap; a corpse rises to drag its murderer ``Under the Ice'' of a frozen fen; a retired schoolteacher feeds her illegitimate granddaughter to the ``Eels'' in a canal—and the favor is returned (``When the sun came up and filled the room with warmth, Miss Jervis lay quite still. Her nightgown, however, heaved with a life of its own''). Gordon's writing is simple and unforced; he describes his ghastlies with a deft precision that will leave readers shivering—and eager for more. For stout hearts only. (Fiction. 12-14)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993

ISBN: 1-56402-067-3

Page Count: 112

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1993

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

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MEMORY BOY

by Will Weaver ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2001

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A suburban family flees the breakdown of law and order following a massive natural disaster in this tense near-future tale. It’s 2008, and in the two years since Mount Rainier exploded, a steady rain of ash over much of the world has led to strict anti-pollution laws. Cars and trucks are virtually banned, electric power heavily rationed, fresh food has become a rare commodity—and horror stories of riots and rampant crime are starting to come out of the larger cities. Heading for a summer cabin, the Newells make a surreptitious exit from Minneapolis on a pedal- and wind-driven contraption cobbled together by 16-year-old Miles from bicycles and a sailboat’s mast. It’s a changing world through which they travel, in which small towns are closed or hostile, a fast-food breakfast costs nearly $100, and bandits on motorbikes prey on unwary strangers. Worse, the cabin, when they reach it, is already full of refugees who aren’t inclined to move on. As in his other books (Hard Ball, 1998, etc.), Weaver has made this a male-oriented story, in which the men do most of the planning, fighting, and bonding, while the women may not always be passive bystanders but tend to cause more problems than they solve. Stubbornly aliterate but gifted with both an eidetic memory and great mechanical aptitude, Miles makes a memorable narrator/hero—not infallible, but competent enough, in the end, to lead his family to a place of safety. An absorbing tale set against a disturbing, plausibly developed background. (Fiction. 10-13)