Tom Calloway didn’t want to go on a field trip to Costa Rica, but circumstances had him ending up sitting in the back of the plane–which was the only part that was intact after the crash in the remote South American wilderness. Tom and a small group of his classmates are fortunate to be alive, but their luck quickly runs out when some of them fall prey to the unfamiliar threats of the jungle–animals, reptiles, insects, and even the unforgiving heat. Every decision they make could mean life or death.
As the days go by and the survivors’ desperation grows, things get even more perilous. Not everyone can cope with the trauma of seeing their friends die, and a struggle for leadership soon pits them against each other. And when they come across evidence of other people in the middle of the rainforest, does that mean they’re safe–or has their survival come to an even more vicious end?
I read this fast, a really compelling YA adventure, completely perfect for its target audience and just as perfect for adults like me who are trying very hard not to be. Adult that is…
Seriously this is a fantastic read from Kevin Wignall here, utterly gripping from the first page as a plane crashes in the Amazon leaving a motley group of teenagers battling the elements, the terrain, the wildlife and often each other in order to make it out alive..
Our anchor for this erratic and riveting journey is the quietly deep and observant Tom Calloway, a really engaging protagonist whose tendency towards solitude becomes slowly erroded by the unusual circumstance, creating a growing group dynamic character drama within the wider thriller narrative.
The author has a genuinely fine eye for human nature, a clever and intuitive sense of how to immerse the reader into a story and as well as all that there are snakes and storms, beasts and burdens, fire and fury. I mean what else do you really need?
Loved it. My youngest child has now nabbed it and he’s already talking out loud to the characters within which is probably the biggest clue that this is one to watch..
Fun, adventure and classic character study. Go get it.
Recommended.
You can purchase When We Were Lost (UK kindle) Here or (US Hardback) Here.
Happy Reading!
