I kept hearing about this one on Twitter--a novel written in verse about a tween girl’s survival with only a dog as a companion in Colorado. Survival stories are one of my favorites and anything with a dog elevates it. NetGalley provided me an e-ARC yesterday and I started reading it last night. Within 20 minutes, I was completely hooked! I put on my pajamas and went straight to bed to spend the evening cuddled up with this touching story. What a treat!
Maddie plans a sleepover with some friends, but they are all keeping their plans secret from their parents. In the end, Maddie ends up by herself and in the middle of the night her entire town is hastily evacuated. Each of Maddie’s parents think that she was evacuated with the other parent. Communications are non-existent with no cell service. At first she has electricity and water, but they are soon shut off. Luckily, Maddie discovers her neighbor’s dog, George, and they become close companions.
Maddie tries to follow her dad’s advice about staying put and prepares to survive the winter on her own with George. Her bravery is inspirational, but there were a couple of disturbing parts--looters, the brutal killing of a kitten, and the wrath of Mother Nature. These make me cautious about having students below the fifth grade read this one. However, I will highly recommend this to students that want fast-paced adventure/survival stories. The only criticism I have was I wanted a little more detail/information about the mass evacuation which left Maddie behind and even the ending really didn’t provide answers.
5 Stars
