Alone in the Woods

by Rebecca Behrens (Author)

Alone in the Woods
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

From the author of The Disaster Days comes a thrilling survival story, and lost in the woods children's book, about two former best friends who must work together to stay alive after getting lost in a remote national forest.

Jocelyn and Alex have always been best friends...until they aren't. Jocelyn's not sure what happened, but she hopes the annual joint-family vacation in the isolated north woods will be the perfect spot to rekindle their friendship.

But Alex still isn't herself when they get to the cabin. And Jocelyn reaches a breaking point during a rafting trip that goes horribly wrong. When the girls' tube tears it leaves them stranded and alone. And before they know it, the two are hopelessly lost.

Wearing swimsuits and water shoes and with only the contents of their wet backpack, the girls face threats from the elements. And as they spend days and nights lost in the wilderness, they'll have to overcome their fractured friendship to make it out of the woods alive.

Praise for The Disaster Days:

A realistic, engrossing survival story that's perfect for aspiring babysitters and fans of John Macfarlane's Stormstruck!, Sherry Shahan's Ice Island, or Wesley King's A World Below.--School Library Journal

The strength of this steadily paced novel that stretches over four days of a scary disaster scenario is that Hannah doesn't figure everything out; she stumbles, doubts, and struggles throughout it all.--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Fans of survival thrillers in the vein of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet will enjoy this tense, honest tale of bravery...an excellent (and refreshingly not didactic) teaching tool on natural-disaster preparedness.--Booklist

The relentless progression of a variety of disaster scenarios will keep readers turning pages...equally suspenseful and informative.--School Library Connection

Behrens uses immersive details and situations effectively viewed from Hannah's perspective to create a suspenseful, vivid story filled with lessons about responsibility and overcoming adversity.--Publishers Weekly

Alone in the Woods is a perfect...

gift for preteen survival story fans

summer reading tween book for girls 11-14

book for middle school girls

Select format:
Paperback
$7.99

Kirkus Reviews

Fully developed characters and a brisk plot take readers along on a dangerous journey 

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7--It's the first day of the annual family trip that Jocelyn ("Joss") and Alex's families take every summer to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, but this vacation looks nothing like the fun-filled trip that Joss anticipated. Alex has just ended their friendship, and now wants nothing to do with her, preferring to spend all her time texting her new best friend Laura Longbottom, the coolest girl at Walden Middle School. Ever since Alex befriended Laura at Spanish camp, she's been a part of the popular crowd. Her interests have changed, and it seems like Joss has been left behind. Joss doesn't want to go shopping or play with makeup. She just wants to keep the same traditions she's always had with her best friend. When Joss and Alex are forced to go inner-tubing on the river together, the last thing they expect is to get lost in the middle of the woods. The story is told chronologically through Joss and Alex's struggle to survive, and in flashbacks to key turning points in their friendship. Readers will empathize with both girls and ultimately root for their reconciliation. If Behrens's detailed and loving descriptions of the Northwoods of Wisconsin aren't enough, the "Note on the Setting" will convince readers to take a visit--while practicing safe tubing, of course. VERDICT A compelling and relatable middle school friendship tale for fans of survival stories.--Jessica Ko, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Writing with a genuine love for the Wisconsin wilderness, author Rebecca Behrens remembers what it feels like to be a middle schooler. The deeper readers go into the woods with Joss and Alex, the more they'll be rooting for the girls' survival — and the salvaging of their friendship. - —Caroline Starr Rose, author of May B. and Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781728231013
Lexile Measure
810
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Sourcebooks Young Readers
Publication date
October 20, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV001010 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure | Survival Stories
JUV014000 - Juvenile Fiction | Girls & Women
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Survival
Lost children
Action and adventure fiction
Cooperativeness
Forests and forestry

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