Unknown Title

Title:

Distress signal / Mary E. Lambert.

Author:

Lambert, Mary E., 1984- author.

ISBN:

9781338607444

Personal Author:

Lambert, Mary E., 1984- author.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

263 pages ; 22 cm

Content Type:

text

Media Type (RDA):

unmediated

Carrier Type:

volume

General Note:

"They can run, but can they survive?"--Cover.

Abstract:

Lavender and the rest of the sixth-graders are on a camping trip to the Chiricahua wilderness, but the trip seems cursed from the start, and when a flash flood splits the group up Lavender finds herself lost, together with her former best friend Marisol, mean-girl Rachelle, and a boy John who has been behaving like a surly jerk since the start--they have only one pack of supplies and only the most basic wilderness knowledge, but if they are to survive they need to put their differences aside and work as a team or all that will be left of them are their sun-bleached bones.

Reading Level:

Ages 8-12.

Grades 4-6.

Subject Term:

School field trips -- Juvenile fiction.

Camping -- Juvenile fiction.

Desert survival -- Juvenile fiction.

Wilderness survival -- Juvenile fiction.

Floods -- Juvenile fiction.

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.

School field trips -- Fiction.

Camping -- Fiction.

Survival -- Fiction.

Floods -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Chiricahua National Monument (Ariz.) -- Juvenile fiction.

Chiricahua National Monument (Ariz.) -- Fiction.

Format:

Books

Available:*

Library	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Byron-Bergen Public Library	34416000393650	JFIC LAMBERT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Corfu Public Library	34036000164602	J LAMBERT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Sanborn-Pekin Free Library	34132000844424	J LAMBERT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wilson Community Library	34172000425626	J LAMBERT	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

In this edge-of-your-seat survival story, four classmates are stranded in a desert wilderness after a flash flood separates them from the rest of their grade. Can they make it to safety?

Lavender's class is on a field trip in the desert of Chiricahua National Monument, hiking down a ravine, when a flash flood strikes!

As the water hurtles down the ravine, everyone sprints for safety. Lavender runs in the opposite direction as the rest of her class and scrambles up a tree while the torrential river rages by.

When the waters finally recede, Lavender finds herself stranded in the brutal heat of the desert with only her ex-best friend Marisol, mean-girl Rachelle, and a boy named John. They are shaken, disoriented, and have just one pack of supplies and the most basic wilderness knowledge. Can they find their way back to safety? They will have to learn to work together in spite of their differences -- if they want to survive.

Author Notes

Mary E. Lambert is a middle school English teacher in Tempe, Arizona. She graduated from the Vermont College of Fine Arts with an MFA in children's writing and is the author of Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes . Visit her on Twitter @MaryUncontrary or at MaryELambert.com.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4--7--Lavender has been looking forward to the sixth grade field trip to Chiricahua National Park in Arizona. The class will go on hikes and stargaze with the newly purchased class telescope. Plus, she'll get three days of hanging out with her best friend, Marisol. However, nothing is going to plan; Marisol is ignoring her and spending time with mean girl Rachelle. When the class accidently goes off trail, Lavender decides to prank Rachelle so Marisol will see Rachelle's true colors. Then she hears a flash flood warning on her ham radio, and while the rest of her class escapes, Lavender, Rachelle, Marisol, and fellow student John get separated from the group. With no signal to call for help, limited water, and no maps, the students must work together to survive, while overcoming their friendship drama. The story is easy to read with a straightforward plot, and Lambert skillfully hooks readers with compelling chapter endings. The friend drama among the three girls is authentic for their ages, but some readers may find the meanness once they are in a survival situation, unrealistic. VERDICT Readers who enjoyed Rebecca Behrens's The Disaster Days or Watt Key's Deep Water will enjoy Lambert's blend of survival themes, focus on teamwork, and friendship drama in her fast-paced plot. Fans of Dusti Bowling's The Canyon's Edge will also find the similar wilderness and survival themes intriguing.--Kaetlyn Phillips, Yorkton, Sask.

Kirkus Review

A class trip turns into a fight for survival when four sixth graders are lost in the Arizona wilderness. Lavender Blue-Morris has been looking forward to the wilderness science camp since kindergarten. For an astronomy and ham radio buff like Lavender, three days in the wild feel like a dream come true. When Lavender's best friend, Marisol, gets angry with her and pairs up with Rachelle, the class queen bee, for the bus ride instead of Lavender, who has to sit with John, it begins to look like this won't be the amazing trip she'd hoped for after all. Things go from bad to worse when a prank goes wrong and Lavender is responsible for getting herself, Marisol, Rachelle, and John hopelessly separated from the rest of the group. The unforgiving Arizona bush presents treacherous obstacles like a flash flood, wild animals, and dehydration. Hardest of all, the conflict between Lavender and Marisol--and struggles among the rest of the group--threatens to tear them apart when they need each other the most. The brisk pace, poignant descriptions of a changing friendship, and realistic handling of Lavender's growing self-awareness will keep readers riveted. Marisol is bilingual in English and Spanish, hinting at some diversity in the class, but physical descriptions are minimal, and most characters are assumed White. Perilous desert survival action and relatable BFF conflict combine for a fast-paced disaster read. (Thriller. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.