The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast -- A Review by Caroline Starr Rose

Praise

Clark writes with a lyrical and appealing rhythm, as she viscerally explores childhood emotions of fear and anxiety relating to bullying, abandonment, and getting lost. 
-- Publishers Weekly

An unforgettable, life-affirming tale. 
-- Booklist

With a sharp focus on the isolated protagonist and his internal struggle, it is character development that shines most clearly, though the external environmental dangers and the mystery keep the suspense taut….A poignant story. 
-- School Library Journal

This first novel from Clark offers unusual imaginative and emotion-driven introspection, earning its several allusions to The Little Prince.
-- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Review

I’m a long-time fan of survival stories. I even wrote one of my own. The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast is a wonderful new addition to the genre.

The story begins with a Boy waking up on a beach. The Boy doesn’t know how he got there. He doesn’t know his history. He can’t even remember his name. He soon comes to realize a Beast lurks in the woods.

Survival stories face unique challenges, especially when a character is all alone. There are no other characters to play off of. That means there’s no one to talk to, either! The brilliant solution in the movie Castaway was the addition of the volleyball, Wilson. In The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast, the Boy must face a Bully — an antagonistic version of himself. Like Wilson, the Bully let’s readers listen in to the Boy’s world. We hear his doubts and struggles firsthand.

Survival stories are deeply internal. They often rely on backstory and memories. As the Boy struggles to remember who he is and how he might find his way home, he is faced with pieces of his past. Sometimes they seem real enough to touch. Some memories are hopeful and warm. Some leave him feeling inadequate and even more alone. And as the Boy gets glimpses of his history, readers get a clearer picture of the Boy.

Of course, survival stories must also be external. There are physical challenges. Struggles. Obstacles that feel impossible to overcome. This story has all that, too.  

The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast takes the survival genre one step further in ways it would be unfair for me to share. The story must speak for itself. But I can promise you this is memorable and powerful read --  as Booklist describes it, an unforgettable, life-affirming tale. 

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the review copy.

Cover Reveal: The Wild Lands by Paul Greci

I know this is a blog about all things middle grade but I’ve got my first young adult novel coming out and am really excited to share the cover!! The Wild Lands hits the shelves on January 29, 2019 but you can pre-order it now.

Book Information:

Publisher: Imprint (Macmillan)

Publication Date: 01/29/2019

ISBN: 9781250183583

384 Pages, Ages 14 and up

Here’s the blurb from the cover:

When a collapsing U.S. government abandoned an Alaska ravaged by earthquakes and wildfires, Travis’s family chose not to evacuate. But now they realize their mistake—as food stores collapse and the few people who stayed turn on each other.

Travis and his younger sister Jess now must cross hundreds of miles in search of what remains of civilization. The wilderness they’re crossing is filled with ravenous animals, strangers competing for dwindling resources, and petty dictators fighting for control.

They’ll make a few friends and a lot of enemies on their terrifying journey across the ruins of today’s world. Travis and his fellow travelers will fight for what they believe in as they see how far people will go to survive.

This pulse-pounding thriller, full of shocking plot twists, is the ultimate survival tale of humanity’s fight against society’s collapse.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to be sharing some information about the Sequel to Surviving Bear Island in the near future.

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.

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.

Book News by Paul Greci

Doing research for the Sequel to Surviving Bear Island.

I’m thrilled to announce that there will be a Sequel to Surviving Bear Island coming out in 2018, and another middle grade adventure to follow!!

From Publishers Marketplace: June 14, 2017 – Paul Greci

Children’s: Middle grade

JLG winner for Surviving Bear Island Paul Greci‘s untitled sequel, pitched as another Alaskan Hatchet and Far North-like adventure/wilderness/survival tale, to Eileen Robinson at Move Books, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2018, by Amy Tipton at Signature Literary Agency.

Thanks to my agent Amy Tipton for finding a home for more of my middle grade adventure stories!! We’ve been working together for six years now!

And, I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Eileen Robinson and all the other fine folks at Move Books!!

The Sequel is set in Interior Alaska where there are many free flowing rivers.

The sequel (title forthcoming) took about a year to write utilizing the early morning hours before my teaching day began, plus some of the previous summer.

The second book in the two-book deal is a yet-to-be-written middle grade adventure (which I’ll share more details about at a later date), so I read with interest Caroline’s post last Monday. This will be the first time I have a contract for a book I have not yet written.

I’ll have a little more news to share regarding my young adult fiction writing sometime soon.

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.

 

A World War II Must Read by Tod Olson (post by Paul Greci)

I have the good fortune of having my classroom in a little room in the School Library. Having my classroom in the library puts me in direct contact with all the new books coming in.

This week, Lost in the Pacific, 1942 by Tod Olson caught my eye. I took it home over the weekend and started reading it.

The short summary from Kirkus reads:

Olson tells the harrowing true story of how eight men in three tiny inflatable rafts, lost in 68 million square miles of shark-infested Pacific Ocean without food or water and near enemy-held territory, survived three weeks before being rescued.  A riveting, completely engrossing true survival story. (glossary, author‘s note, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

I haven’t finished the reading the book yet but the story has swept me away. Without any spoilers, I’ll just say it’s written in a directly, powerfully and personally.

Here’s the beginning:

The Pacific Ocean looked calm and inviting from 5,000 feet up, from the drone of four sturdy motors in Jim Whitaker’s ear. But he had no desire to land a 15-ton, 4-engine plane down there. To a B-17 bomber, plunging from the sky, the ocean is as unforgiving as a concrete wall. 

      Yet by 1:30 p.m. on October 21, 1942, that was the only option left.

               -Tod Olson-(page 1, Lost in the Pacific, 1942)

If you like history and true survival stories, then this book is for you.

From the Author’s website: Tod Olson is author of the historical fiction series How to Get Rich and the narrative nonfiction series, LOST. He holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and lives in Vermont with his family, his mountain bike, and his electric reclining chair.

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.

John Smelcer: A great Alaskan Writer

I can’t really do John Smelcer justice in a short blog post. He’s authored over forty-five books, has degrees in archeology, linguistics, literature and education, is the last surviving reader and writer of the Alaskan Native Language, Ahtna, and has won numerous awards for his writing. His books, four of which I’ll highlight below, have been widely and favorably reviewed. If you’ve never read any of Smelcer’s work, I’d start with The Trap. It is a classic survival story, and like most of Smelcer’s fiction, it is inspired by true events and personal experiences.

The Trap (2006 Henry Holt)

Seventeen-year-old Johnny Least-Weasel knows that his grandfather Albert is a stubborn old man and won’t stop checking his own traplines even though other men his age stopped doing so years ago. But Albert Least-Weasel has been running traplines in the Alaskan wilderness alone for the past sixty years. Nothing has ever gone wrong on the trail he knows so well. When Albert doesn’t come back from checking his traps, with the temperature steadily plummeting, Johnny must decide quickly whether to trust his grandfather or his own instincts. Written in alternating chapters that relate the parallel stories of Johnny and his grandfather, this novel poignantly addresses the hardships of life in the far north, suggesting that the most dangerous traps need not be made of steel.

Edge of Nowhere (2014 Leapfrog Press)

Seth is a typical teenager—overweight from not getting enough exercise. One night he and his dog, Tucker, are washed overboard from his father's fishing boat during a torrential storm in the Gulf of Alaska. Although a rescue search goes on for days, the two are assumed drowned. But by good fortune, Seth and his dog make it safely to one of the hundreds of islands that line the coastline there. Over many months, the boy and his companion makes their way, island by island, toward home, while Seth's desperate father never gives up hope. Along the way, Seth learns many hard lessons about survival and even harder lessons about himself.

Lone Wolves (2013 Leap Frog Press)

Deneena Yazzie’s love of the woods and trail come from her grandfather, who teaches her their all-but-vanished Native Alaskan language. While her peers lose hope, trapped between the old and the modern cultures, and turn to destructive behaviors, Denny and her mysterious lead dog, a blue-eyed wolf, train for the Great Race—giving her town a new pride and hope.

 Savage Mountain (Forthcoming 2015 Leapfrog Press)

Summer 1980. Brothers Sebastian and James Savage climb one of Alaska's highest mountains to prove to their father that they are worthy of his love and respect. Inspired by true events, Savage Mountain is not a story of father-son reconciliation. Some relationships can never be mended. Instead, it's a touching story of two brothers who save each other's life time and again, only to discover that brotherhood is the strongest bond of all.


 

Middle-Grade Survival Guides

Hilary's latest post had me mentally sifting through well-loved stories searching for the villains I love to hate. Fantasy is one of my favorite genres, and I like a good hand-clasping, character-torturing, mwa-ha-ha-laughing villain as much as the rest of you. Yet I remember when I was a young reader, some of the books that really gripped me were the man-against-nature ones. Hatchet. Julie of the Wolves. The Island of Blue Dolphins. The Sign of the Beaver. The Incredible Journey.

These were stories that captured my imagination in a way that wouldn't let go. The kind of tale that I would reread right away, even if I had just finished the book a few days before. As an adult, I wonder if some of the magic of these stories grew from the way my worldview was developing. Perhaps the new realization that the world was so much bigger than me provoked a fascinated respect for characters who could make it "out there" on their own.

What do you think? In past posts, we've identified that a distinctive of middle-grade stories is characters discovering their place within familial relationships, or, in the case of often-absent parents, learning identity in alternate forms of community, like a close-knit boarding school, grandparent figures, or the most loyal of friendships. But what about these survival books, where a character must make it on his own in a life-or-death scenario? Why do you think these stories appeal so much to middle-grade readers?

And, because seeing some of these covers again makes me want to go on a survival-story binge (that was the same image on my worn-out copy of The Sign of the Beaver), what are some of your favorites?