Take Me to the River

Gr 6-9--Dylan, 14, gets off a bus in Alpine, TX, expecting to meet his cousin Rio and Rio's father for the first time. Instead, he receives a phone message to hitch a ride to their remote town. Dylan, who's a bit of a worrywart, arrives in Terlingua to discover that his uncle, a river guide, has suddenly gone to Alaska for a few weeks' work. Rio is 15, but he's got 20 more pounds of muscle on him and about that much more bravado than Dylan. Both teens are pretty good at rafting, and after Rio convinces Dylan that he doesn't need to tell his parents that his uncle is gone, they set off on a 10-day ride down the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande. It soon becomes clear that they will not only have to battle fierce waters, but also match wits with an evil criminal who bursts into their campsite with a bruised boy. The teens give Carlos and Diego some supplies and continue their rafting trip. When they meet up with the pair later, Carlos is desperate to get away from the authorities pursuing him and doesn't care who he has to kill to do so. This eye-popping tale will either turn readers on to the heart-pumping sport of whitewater rafting or completely scare them away. Descriptions of the water and the maneuvers the cousins have to make to survive in the aftermath of flash flooding and a terrible storm are riveting. The evolution of their friendship is realistically portrayed, and the bravery they show in trying to save the boy will make them heroes to readers.--Julie Shatterly, W.A. Bess Elementary School, Gastonia, NC