Deep in trouble,
Deep in the canyons
Fourteen-year-old Dylan Sands has come all the way from North Carolina to Big Bend National Park, on the Texas/Mexico border, to paddle the fabled Rio Grande. His partner in adventure is a local river rat, his cousin Rio. As the two are packing their boats for ten days in the canyons, six Black Hawk helicopters appear overhead and race across the river into Mexico.
The army won't tell the boys what's happening, but they are given a weather advisory: A hurricane is approaching the Gulf of Mexico. Dylan and Rio have their hearts set on their trip and can't give it up. Rio believes that their chances of running into border troubles or a major storm are slim to none.
By canoe and raft, Dylan and Rio venture into the most rugged and remote reaches of the U.S./Mexico border. You may well not see another human being during the duration of your trip, the guidebook tells them. They don't, until a man stumbles into camp with a seven-year-old boy. A storm is brewing as the man who calls himself Carlos begs for help . . . and the boy is trembling with fear.
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School Library Journal
Gr 5–8—Dylan, 14, arrives in the Terlingua Ghost Town of West Texas, looking forward to paddling the Rio Grande with an uncle and a cousin he has never met. However, he quickly discovers that his uncle has taken a temporary job in Alaska and his 15-year-old cousin, Rio, is home alone. The boys decide that they can run the river on their own and are soon on their way. They run into a hurricane named Dolly, a murderous gangster, and a young boy in jeopardy. Will Hobbs's fast-paced adventure story (HarperCollins. 2011) will hold the attention of listeners. Detailed descriptions help ground the tale and give it a sense of place. Steven Boyer gives each character a distinct voice. Dylan, who narrates the tale, comes across as matter of fact, fitting the character well. Boyer does a nice job of pacing so that the tension builds and listeners are in a state of constant anticipation. For action-adventure fans looking for a unique setting.—Deanna Romriell, Salt Lake City Public Library, UT
Children's Literature - Janis Flint-Ferguson
When fifteen-year-old Dylan Sands arrives in Texas to take a whitewater river trip on the Rio Grande, he expects to see his uncle and cousin waiting for him. The fact that they are not at the bus stop is only the first indication that this is not going to be just a river trip. Dylan finds his cousin Rio, and the pair embark on the trip without adult supervision and straight into the remnants of a hurricane. Together they need to use their wits and their previous water experience to maneuver the raft and the canoe through the politically and physically dangerous waters along the Texas and Mexico border. Their trip is both astounding adventure and questionable decision making. When they meet up with Carlos and Diego, a pair attempting to cross the border and enter the United States illegally, everything changes and they soon find themselves paddling for their lives and the lives of their newfound passengers. The Texas border is not a safe place and their decision to travel in the face of National Guard presence does ask the reader to suspend disbelief. At the end, the boys face the consequences of their recklessness. In fact, given all that the boys go through, the ending is just too simplistic, but that does not discount the fast-paced action and the detailed descriptions of the canyons and bluffs along the river. Fans of Hobbs will welcome the wild water experience that he crafts, and reluctant readers will be hooked from the first tarantula. Reviewer: Janis Flint-Ferguson
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