On My Reading List: The Last Panther by Todd Mitchell (post by Paul Greci)

I write survival stories and I totally gravitate toward reading them. Here’s the most recent addition to my reading list.

 This first paragraph of The Last Panther (seen below) grabbed me because it has an excellent mix of action driven by the setting, plus suspense. It makes me want to keep reading.

 "The netters were pulling something to shore. Kiri couldn’t see what they’d caught from where she stood on the beach with Paulo, but six or seven netters had waded into the surf to haul on the lines, so whatever the nets held, it must have been big."

About the book:

Eleven-year-old Kiri has a secret: wild things call to her. More than anyone else, she’s always had a special connection to animals. But when Kiri has an encounter with the last known Florida panther, her life is quickly turned on end. Caught between her conservationist father, who wants to send the panther to a zoo, and the village poachers, who want to sell it to feed their families, Kiri must embark on a journey that will take her deep into the wilderness. There has to be some way to save the panther, and for her dad and the villagers to understand each other. If Kiri can’t figure out what it is, she’ll lose far more than the panthers—she’ll lose the only home she’s ever known, and the only family she has left.

About the Author:

TODD MITCHELL is the author of a few other books for middle-grade and teen readers, including The Traitor King, The Secret to Lying, and Backwards. Currently, he teaches creative writing in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he lives with his wife, two wily daughters, and one very smart dog. You can visit him (and arrange to bring him out to your school) at ToddMitchellBooks.com.

If you’ve read or are planning to read a recently published survival story I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Paul Greci is the author of Surviving Bear Island, a 2015 Junior Library Guild Selection and a 2016 Scholastic Reading Club Selection. Forthcoming in October 2018 is Follow the River, a sequel to Surviving Bear Island published by Move Books. In January 2019, Paul's first young adult novel, The Wild Lands will be published by Macmillan.