Hostile Territory

In Greci’s intense survival tale with a thriller component, four teens endure a harrowing trek across the Alaskan wilderness after an earthquake destroys their leadership camp, leaving them as the only survivors. Faced with limited supplies and no hope of rescue, Josh, Shannon, Brooke, and Derrick must brave myriad dangers (bears, wolves, and treacherous terrain), overcome their fears, and learn to work as a team to reach civilization. But their odyssey continues even after they find help: the world teeters on the brink of disaster, and a sudden shift in plot and tone poses the quartet as the unlikely solution to preventing an outright apocalypse. It’s clear that Greci (The Wild Lands) knows his landscape—Alaska’s beauty and natural hazards become their own vivid character in his handling—but the human cast suffers, reduced to basic characteristics (bossy, whiny, friendly, brainy), and an abrupt resolution glosses over many of the final details. Ages 12–up. [em]Agent: Amy Tipton, Signature Literary Agency. (Jan.) [/em]