Description
From the acclaimed author of Run comes this exhilarating survivalist novel about 13-year-old Max, who is home alone when a tsunami warning hits his coastal town.
Max loves surfing, the beach, and the chilled-out island he calls home – though he doesn't love all the tourists that swarm his peaceful beach town every summer. When a warning comes that an unexpected tsunami is just hours away, Max is home on his own and he can't find his beloved dog, Ralph.
With precious time ticking away and people speeding past him out of town, Max is running out of time to get to higher ground. Ultimately, he will have to choose between trying to survive a tsunami on his own, or banding together with whichever strangers are left behind, even if they're tourists. And he'd better hurry, because the tsunami is going to hit any moment …
Perfect for fans of Tristan Bancks and Katherine Rundell, this gripping novel explores couarage, misplaced loyalty and survival in the face of disaster.
Review
Thirteen-year-old Max lives on the serene Birin Island. It is slowly being taken over by rich tourists, forcing many locals to move to the mainland. His Dad died a few months ago, and he lives with his Mum and his Uncle Ed who has moved to the island to be close by, but he is not Max’s favourite person. He is certainly no replacement for Max’s Dad! To make things even worse, now their house is going to be demolished to put a tennis court on the block, and they don’t know where they are going to go.
But none of this matters when a tsunami warning hits and Max is too slow to get off the island. What follows is a frightening encounter with a huge wave that he is lucky to survive. Then along comes the devastation of another giant wave, that he faces along with two others, Tig and Clem. They survive, but barely, and then the fight for survival really begins. Finding food and particularly fresh water is their first task, and then they need to try to find other survivors, and ultimately how to get off the island. The bridge has been taken out so their only option is to paddle.
Max knows that he can do it but after those waves he is afraid of the ocean. But when Clem’s condition worsens, he realises that he must face his fears to have any hope of saving her. Will he make it? And can they all survive this horrible ordeal? And foremost in Max’s mind, did his Mum survive?
This is an action-packed survival novel that has awesome characters and is brilliantly written. Containing themes of family, survival, pre-conceived prejudices, working together, hope and bravery it is an incredible novel that is perfect for middle grade readers.
