Take Me to the River

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.

About the Author :
Will Hobbs is the award-winning author of 11 previous novels for young readers, including Far North, Ghost Canoe, and The Maze. Six of his books have been chosen by the American Library Association as Best Books for Young Adults.Visit Will Hobbs on the web at www.WillHobbsAuthor.com

Review :
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 - School Library Journal