DNF Review – The Explorer by Katherine Rundell (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Historical Fiction/Adventure
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 12, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1481419451
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Bought through Owlcrate Jr.
Rating: 2/5 stars

“From Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner Katherine Rundell comes an exciting new novel about a group of kids who must survive in the Amazon after their plane crashes.

Fred, Con, Lila, and Max are on their way back to England from Manaus when the plane they’re on crashes and the pilot dies upon landing. For days they survive alone, until Fred finds a map that leads them to a ruined city, and to a secret.”

I was reading this with my eleven year old son and we made it to about page 130 before stopping. There was just absolutely no interest in continuing the book for either of us. I think the main problem was just that the story moved really slow and just wasn’t that interesting.

The premise of this book is that four kids survive a plane crash but end up stranded in the Amazon jungle. They are struggling to survive and find their way out to a major city so they can get home.

The characters are overly characterized and one dimensional which made them hard to engage with. You very obviously have a brave kid, a smart kid, a whiny kid, etc. Their struggles in the Amazon forest are typical of numerous other survival books.

Overall no one in my family enjoyed this story. While it was technically written fine; the characters, pacing, and plot left a lot to be desired.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge