Survive/The Hurricane

Given that this is one of four inaugural releases in a series entitled Survive!, one knows from the start that the hurricane that strikes Galveston, Tex., is not apt to get the best of Izzy MacKenzie. But Watson packs the story with harrowing moments that are likely to get the reader's heart beating faster than normal. Izzy, a seventh grader, cuts school on her birthday to go fishing and gets caught in the storm's fierce winds and rain (never mind the implausibility of the girl's bicycling to a remote pier after hearing hurricane warnings on the radio). When the abandoned house in which she finds shelter begins to break apart, Izzy's fright is very real--and contagious. Trapped in a dark, hot attic with little food and water, the resourceful girl manages to sustain herself and cleverly devises a distress signal that brings about her rescue. The girl's troubled relationship with her mother and memories of her beloved, recently deceased grandfather flesh out Watson's fast-moving plot. If the other adventures in the series are as well-written as this installment, Survive! will do just that. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)