Adventure Books
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Alden CarterNeither Randy nor Mark, cousins, wanted to go on this wilderness canoe trip but it was a family tradition and the pressure from their fathers was great. When one has a diabetic relapse and medical supplies are lost, as is the compass, things get very challenging and suspenseful!
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
A blind American boy and an old West Indian native are stranded on a Caribbean island and must find a common understanding in order to survive together.
Downriver by Will Hobbs
This book, one of Hobbs' most suspenseful, tells of a group of rebellious teens sent to a wilderness camp to get "straightened out." Each has their own agenda, though, and in the end all find themselves in more danger than they bargained for. Thunder River is the sequel to this book.
Far North by Will Hobbs
Fifteen-year-old Gabe enrolls in a North Alaskan boarding school to be near his father but experiences far more adventure than he bargained for when the small plane he is riding in crashes and he and his roommate must trek their way out of the northern wilderness in the middle of winter. Will Hobbs has written many other wilderness adventure books. Check them out!
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
With absolutely no wilderness experience and no equipment except for the hatchet his mother bought him for the trip, Brian Robeson must figure out how to survive alone in the Canadian wilderness after the small plane crashes. Sequels to this book include The River, Brian's Winter, and Brian's Return.
The Haymeadow by Gary Paulsen
Fourteen-year-old Tink is unprepared for spending the summer in the highlands with 6000 family sheep and must confront the many perils of wildlife and natural disasters in this exciting Paulsen title.
The Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander
Vesper Holly and her guardian set out to find the legendary treasure in the land of Illyria only to find themselves in the midst of a local war and their very lives in greatest danger.
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Miyax, a 13-year-old Inuit girl, runs away from her dismal marriage but gets lost on her way to San Francisco and must survive in the Alaskan wilderness amidst a pack of wolves who befriend her. Julie is the sequel to this popular book.
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Sam Gribley gets fed up with things at home and runs away to the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York where he uses common sense and a keen sense observation to learn to stay live in the wilderness. On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain follow this title.
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
When the Robinson family, dad, mom, and four children, are shipwrecked on a deserted island they must use their wits, courage, humor, and the available resources to carve a new life for themselves until they are rescued...if they are rescued.
Tomorrow : When the War Began by John Marsden
A group of high school students are off camping in the Australian bush when unidentified military forces take over their country forcing everyone to leave their homes and become their prisoners at the fairgrounds. The teens must not only figure out how to survive themselves but also must try to free their families and to get word out to the rest of the world. This is a suspenseful book!