Dylan is a mess. His father, a journalist, died in Darfur and he is angry at the world. He has gotten in all sorts of trouble but goes a little too far when he steals a car and goes for a joyride in a farmer's field. As a last resort arrangements are made for Dylan to spend the summer with his Uncle Todd and ex Marine. It would be bad enough staying with him n Oregon but what is worse is they are going to Papua New Guinea to try and locate an airplane wreckage deep in the jungles that his grandfather had survived.
Dylan is a mess - no respect for authority, doesn't listen when told to take malaria pills, only thinks of himself. As a result he gets lost in the jungle of Papua New Guinea with malaria, no food, bites, etc. This part of the book was really good as Dylan wandered around trying to survive and met a girl who helped him out. The ending got kind of long as Dylan tried to prove that he had changed.
So, this wasn't the best written book of the year. I have read other reviews and noticed that it is compared to Touching Spirit Bear (which I haven't read) and that Dylan is ultra annoying. I get that for sure. For my take - it was 210 pages which is a good length, a decent survival story, and the character though annoying (and I have several students who might relate) does grow. I liked it.
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