Book Description

The Titanic -- April 14, 1912 Gavin Reilly is working in the Titanic's galley to earn his passage from Ireland to America. He can't wait to join his brother in New York. He has big dreams and bigger ambitions. Karolina Green is returning home to the States with her Aunt Rose after the death of her parents in England. She wants, more than anything, to mend her shattered life in New York.

On a calm, clear April night their hopes and dreams turn into a nightmare -- like those of hundreds of other passengers on the Titanic. Rich and poor, famous and unknown, the people aboard the Titanic find themselves at the mercy of a cold seathat even the greatest ship ever built can't conquer. Few will live to remember the disaster the world still can't forget -- will Gavin and Karolina be among the survivors? ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Survival! Titanic! Is a really good book for adolescents!
I think that Surviuval! Titanic is a very good book for fifth to eighth graders. In this story, there are two main characters, Gavin, a crew member, and Karolina, a passenger. They are both abord the Titanic, heading to a new and better life. Gavin befriends Karolina, and they create a new friendship. Then when disaster strikes, the Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks! Will Gavin and Karolina be among the survivors? You will find out if you read this excellent book! Survival! Titanic is better than most other Titanic books because the climax is gripping, the characters are realistic, and the description is vivid to help create pictures in your mind. In the book Survival! Titanic, the climax in the story is gripping. A book review says it all: "An exciting page turner! Survival! Titanic is the BEST BOOK!" Another review written by someone your age summarized the climax and exciting point of the book: "..When the ship sinks, Gavin is forced to swim. Will he survuve? Would you? Read this book to find out!" I also found this out myself when I picked up this book from the bookstore. I couldn't put it down for too long! It was so good, I kept going back to the book to see what happened next. You will too, if you read Survival! Titanic! The book Survival! Titanic had the best characters because they are so life-like. I felt that the characters had their own idosincrasies, or unique habits. As I read the book, I was "getting to know" the characters, and sense their emotions. A reader of the book said in their book review about the characters: "You meet two cool kids, and one adult..." Another reader who liked the book said: "Faced with natural disaster, ordinary people find untapped depths of courage and compassion." That reader was mainly saying that the characters had courage and compassion; they were describing some of the characteristics of the passengers. You will know what they went through after reading Survival! Titanic. This book has some of the best descriptive language in it. Survival! Titanic, I felt, used such good descriptave language that you could create the scenes in your mind, and see what the passengers were wearing, and hear how they were talking. A book reviw exclaims: "One of the most detailed Titanic books I've ever read!" Another person who enjoyed this book states: "You gotta read this book. I loved the descriptave words, too." By reading Survival!Titanic, you will also be able to "see" what the author is writing. Although Survival!Titanic should be read by fifth to eigth graders, some people felt otherwise and had negative comments about this book. For example, a reader says: "The book, although somewhat thrilling, was cheesy." This reader though that the book sounded phony and not too realistic. Another comment about Survival!Titanic is: "This book wasn't well written at all!" This person just didn't like either the writing style or the language that was used. A reader who didn't like that there weren't enough direc quotes and that the characters did abnormal things said: "The characters just didn't seem real and alive." Survival!Titanic was a good book for fifth to eigh graders because the characters are realistic, the description is vivid, and it is a gripping thriller with a good climax. If you read Survival!Titanic, you will have taken the fateful voyage along with Gavin and Karolina, and you will have experienced some of the things that the passengers did on that horrific night.

A survival story about two kids on the Titanic.
After her parents die in England, Karolina's aunt comes to take her home to America. Although she misses her parents terribly, she has resigned herself to the fact that they are never coming back, and she tries to enjoy the trip home on the Titanic, sad as she is. Gavin, who is twelve like Karolina, is earning his passage to America by working in the Titanic's galley. He misses his family back home in Ireland but is eager to join his older brother in New York. Gavin and Karolina meet by chance one night and become friends. On the night the ship sinks, they are thrown together, fighting to survive the terrible disaster. I reccomend this book if you like survival stories or books about the Titanic or shipwrecks.

SURVIVAL TITANIC
I recommend this book to kids aged 10-15 because it's a book about history and about surviving a shipwreck. This book has good excitement and suspense, you don't know if Karolina or Gavin will make it alive. This book can help kids in a lot of different situations; such as a social studies test about when the TITANIC sank, also this could actually save kids lives if they are really on a sinking ship. What if you loved your aunt so much that if a ship was about to sink that you could save your self-including your aunt. Karolina and Gavin saved a lot of peoples lives by telling people to "get to a life boat immediately". This book is a good thriller and I suggest you read it!

A Good Book
I thought that this book was well written though it did take some times to get into the plot. At certain time I did think that it got a little dull but overall it was well written and quite interesting. If your wondering about the reading level it would be about right for grades 4-7. For forth graders it may be a little difficult and for seventh graders it may be a little easy. Overall, I would recomend this book to most people unless they need action 100% all of the time.

This book sure did hit the iceberg
This was the worst book that I have ever read! It was uneventful and boring. Karolina and Gavin are the usual characters in a Titanic book which made them very original. I do not recommend this book to anyone. I thought that it was badly written as well as a put-to-sleeper. If you enjoy good books, do not read this one. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

poor book
This was the most boring book I have ever read.The author spent way too much time on details and not enought on interesting stuff!My son had to use this book for a book report where he had to pick out 10 important details and find objects to help describe them.This was the most difficult task ever.All we could come up with was a cat, a harpoon, a whale a boat and oil!

Horrible.

This book was great!!
I have read the book of SURVIVAL! HURRICANE.
I thought that it was the BEST survival book that I have read in a long time. This is such a good book that I couldn't put it down once I started it. After I read the first few pages I was into it right away. That was when I became a good fan of the survival books. Kathleen Duey and K. A. Bale are one of the best adventure writers that I have read about.

A good Survival book!
This story is about Rebecca Whittier, the daughter of the captain of the Vigilance-a whaling boat hunting for whales in 1844.Rebecca wishes she was back home in New Bedford, with her friend and cousin.John Lowe is afree African American about Rebecca's age.John was indentured by hisfather to work on the Vigilance, but John hates the work.When a suddenhurricane hits the Vigilance and the lifeboats leave without them, Rebeccaand John must help each other to survive the violent winds and waves.Ithink the other Survival books were better than this one.They spent toomuch time describing the whaling process and not enough time during thehurricane.It was still a better-than-average book, though.

My favorite Survival! book.
Rebecca Whittier's father is the captain of the Vigilance, a whaling shipthat sails all over the world in hunt of whales. On this particular voyage,Rebecca, her mother, and her younger brother, Joseph, have accompaniedCaptain Whittier. Eleven-year-old Joseph enjoys the voyage, but forthirteen-year-old Rebecca, it's been four long years of loneliness andboredom. She misses her friends in New Bedford and longs for the voyage toend. John Lowe, who is about Rebecca's age, was indentured by his father toliving quarters dirty and cramped, and the work difficult. He, too, wishesthe voyage to end so he can be back home. When the Vigilance is trapped ina hurricane and may sink, Rebecca and John find their lives in peril. Theymust help each other survive and save the ship. I loved this book ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Survival:Fire good for 10 years old and up
I recommend this book to 10-year-old kids and up, either boy or girl. I recommend this book to them because I think it was a very interesting book.It tells you the history on what happened in Chicago in 1871 about Chicago fires that were forcing people out of their houses and filling the streets with ashes. "The streets are planked; every block down there is full of woodworks and coal yards." It was also an exciting book because you didn't know what to expect, or what was going to happen after each fire. For example, in the scene when Julie and Nate were in the streets, Julie didn't know if she could keep on walking because the air was so smoky. "The air was so smoky that it stung her eyes and burned her lungs."It was also a bit frightening to actually know this was going on so many years ago and no one really knew what to do when it had started.In conclusion, if you are interested in what happened in Chicago at this time period, than I recommend you reading this book.

Two kids are thrown together and struggle to survive.
The time and place is 1871 Chicago. Nate is an orphan who lives with his aunt, who runs a boardinghouse. Julie is the spoiled daughter of a wealthycouple. When Julie is separated from her parents the night of the GreatChicago Fire, she is rescued from kidnappers by Nate, who she has never metbefore. Julie, pampered since birth, is completely helpless. It falls uponNate to protect her and bring her back to her family, but at the same time,he longs to find his aunt to make sure she is all right. This was anexciting survival story that had me on the edge of my seat waiting to findout what would happen next to Nate and Julie.

Survival FIRE
The setting is on a boardwalk in Chicago Illinois, were a cow started a fire! The two main characrers are Nate and Julie. Who are two kids that try to esape, the blazes with other peaple. Nate really likes adventures. At the beginning of the story, Julie and Nate help Mr. Black clear out hisbookstore, so the books would not burn. In the middle of the book, the firegets really big. Nate and Julie find a horse and ride it to Nate's Aunt'sboardinghouse, so they don't die. Along the way they see a lot of action.You will have to read the book to see if Nate and Julie survive and get tothe boardinghouse.

My opiion is that it is a good book. You shouldread the book if you like action.You should also read it if you like booksthat have to do with surving.

Dull, despite all of the "action"
This book is hardly an action adventure novel, but more like let's describe everything around the one-dimensional characters kind of story. And I mean EVERYTHING has to be described. The tenseness of the greatdisaster disappears as something in history gets pages on it's appearance.I could really care less. Halt the fire, we need to describe the exactlocation something is happening. Good historical research, but there's alittle too much. The book is too short for all of it. It also needs roomfor the character's stories. I didn't like Julie at all. She was a wimp andconstantly needed help. I can see this from the perspective of her being arich girl. But she's just the good little rich girl. It annoyed me. Itwould be better if she was annoying in a funny way or at least acted like anormal person. Maybe if Julie and Nate had dreams, hopes, and such thingsyou would care so much more for their survival... It may sound sick, but inone of these SURVIVAL! books one of the main characters has just got todie. They are put in the worst situations and yet they always, always live.

Another great Survival book!
Fire: Chicago, 1871 was another great Survival book! It is about two kids, Julie and Nate, who struggle to survive the Chicago Fire. Julie is a rich girl who is going with her father to deliver free groceries to those left homeless by a recent fire when she is seperated from him. Nate is an orphan trying to get back home to his great aunt's boarding house. The two meet by chance and work together against the odds to survive the raging fire. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

My review
I recommend this book to any one who likes excitement or good adventure. It's very exciting because you don't know if Will or Jess will find water or food. It has a lot of adventure because Will and Jess have to travel through sand storms, quick sand, and desert. When Will and Jess go through the sand storm they have to take shelter in an abandoned cave.It's a very tight space and it's hard for them to breathe. They have to go without meat for days before they find a weak ox, which they then cook over an open fire. I like the characters in the book because they are very independent and different. Will shows his self-sufficiency when he tries to go ahead to look for the rest of his party in the valley.In conclusion, if you like good adventure and great excitement, this is the book for you.

A gripping tale of survival in the deserts of Death Valley.
Twelve-year-olds Will and Jess Brantcourt are a twin brother and sister travelling west with their family to California in 1849. Because of theirfather's stubborness, the Brantcourts end up being separated in the desertfrom the rest of the wagon train. Now their wagon has broken down and theirfather is seriously ill, and the family is unable to continue. Now Will andJess are the only ones that can save their family from death. So thedetermined twins set off across the desolate, dry, and unforgiving desertsof Death Valley. The valley threatens to live up to its name every momentof Will and Jess's desperate journey to find help as they encounter heat,thirst, hunger, and dangerous creatures. But they're determined to carry onand not give up, because their family is counting on them. This was anothergreat book in the Survival series. I highly reccomend it if you likehistorical or survival stories.

Another great Survival! book.
Death Valley was another great book in the Survival! series by KathleenDuey and Karen A. Bale. This book was about a brother and sister, Will andJess Brantcourt. Mr. Brantcourt has decided the family will go west tosearch for gold in California, even though no one else in the family wantsto go. Then he decides they will take a shotcut that willsupposedly getthem to California faster - one that goes through the cruel, unrelentinglyhot desert of Death Valley. Then Pa gets sick from an injury, and theBrantcourts' wagon breaks an axle. Now, it's up to Will and Jess to go findhelp for their stranded family - for they are the only hope the Brantcourtshave left. But can they survive in the desert with only scant food andwater, and get help for their family before it's too late? Read thisexciting book to find out!

Will and Jess struggle to survive the desert of Death Valley
Will and Jess Brantcourt, their two younger brothers, and their mother andfather are travelling west to California to find gold in 1849. Will andJess resent their father uprooting them from their home and making themtravelling across half a continent chasing his dreams. Mr. Brantcourtdecides they will take a shortcut, but it takes them through the burningdesert of Death Valley. Separated from the rest of their wagon train, theircovered wagon with a broken axle, and with Pa seriously injured, Will andJess must set off into the desert to find help for their family before itstoo late. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

best of the series!
I'm not a fan of the series but this one is great. I read hurricane{boring} and attempted titanic [to boring to finish] but this was great! Max is a future lion tamer and jodi used to walk the highwire. {her mom was injured badly when she fell off one and she can't find the will to go back on} when the train crashes they escape alive but it might have been better they did'nt with what they are going to face.

COOLEST!!!!
These books are way awesome. They are so real and lifelike you feel like you are there. And they way they put fictional characters in famous or every day disaters isvery intriguing. Duey and Bale had better keepwriting these because no one wants to lose a good thing.

da' da' da' bbbbbbooooommmmbbbbb
Now I would like the world to know that everyone who likes to read should be reading these books.These books are da' best in da' world. I've read every single one of them and they got my 2 thumbs and five stars.Karenand Kathleen better be able to hear this, they also get my two thumbs upand my five stars. Keep writin'.The next book should be #12 Tornado, #13Tsunami, and #14 Avalanche.

Train Wreck is another great Survival! book.
Maximo Reyes is a Mexican orphan who joined a travelling circus and hopes to become a lion tamer. Thirteen year old Jodi Jamison and her father are performers in the same circus. Jodi used to be a high wire walker, but eversince her mother was badly injured after a fall last year, Jodi has losther nerve. When their train wrecks one stormy night, both Max and Jodi mustface their worst fears if they can even begin to hope to live through themost dangerous night of their young lives. I highly reccomend this book,along with the other Survival! books by Kathleen Duey and Karen A. Bale. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Survival Blizzard
This book is called Survival Blizzard. I would recomend this book to people who like adventures books. This book is about a young girl named Maggie,her rich selfish cousin Haydn comes,but then Maggies dad gets hurt so her mom and dad have to go to town. Haydn gets sick of it there and runs into the woods. Then Maggie had to go after him. But after they find eachother a bad storm comes but Maggie and Haydn get home after all,but will her father be all right check out the book and find out.

Horrible Book
Boringest book you'll read in your life....how horifiying this.. book is.

Survival Blizzard
Have you ever survived a blizzard?Survival Blizzard, written by K. Duey and K. A. Bale, takes place in Estes Park, Colorado in 1886.Things were going well for a poor but smart girl, named Maggie.Hadyn, a rich, selfish boy, is really a spoiled brat. The problem Hadyn faces is that he wants to go home, because he doesn't like living on the ranch with Maggie.Hadyn's big opportunity to move finally comes when his aunt and uncle have to go to the hospital.Of course, he takes the opportunity and leaves the ranch.He also leaves Maggie worried.
Maggie finds out that her spoiled, rich cousin never made it to the train station.She feels she has to go rescue Hadyn, who was stranded in a
blizzard. Where could he be? Will Hadyn be alive? Even if she finds Hadyn, will he want to go with Maggie? Just imagine two kids in the face of disaster, who find the courage and determination that they never dreamed they possessed.
....

A gripping survival story that had me on the edge of my seat
When Maggie's father, a rancher in 1886 Colorado, is injured, Maggie's mother takes him to town to see a doctor. That leaves Maggie alone with herspoiled city cousin, Hadyn, who is visting Colorado as a punishment forbeing expelled from school. Hadyn and Maggie have a fight, and Hadyn runsaway, determined to find the train station. When Maggie learns Hadyn nevermade it to town, in spite of hating him, she sets out to find him in thewilderness. But a blizzard descends upon the mountains, trapping Hadyn andMaggie in a harsh and unforgiving wilderness. If they are going to surviveand find their way home, Hadyn and Maggie have to work together. This wasan excellant survival story in a historical setting.

The Best Survival Book.
I scary but good book. It shows dangers in camping and how to survive. What all survival books should do. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Another great book from the Survival series.
Most people think it's odd that Garrett Wood and Molly Bride are best friends. The place is Mississippi, the year 1927, and Garrett is whitewhile Molly is black. But they ignore what everyone else says and remainfriends. They're united in their dreams of getting away from their drearylives on cotton farms.For some time now they've been saving money in ajar in the bayou. When the rising waters of the Mississippi threaten to putthe bayou underwater, Garrett and Molly set out on their little homemaderaft to retrieve the money. But instead, they end up being swept down theriver. They encounter dangerous currents filled with debris, poisonoussnakes, and storms. Their journey will truly test their courage andfriendship. An excellant survival story with historical details about lifein the south in the 1920s.

Another exciting, page turning Survival! book.
Molly Bride and Garrett Wood are both from poor families barely making a living on Mississippi cotton farms in 1927. Molly and Garrett dream of getting away from Mayersville, their little home town. So for three years, they've been saving up nickels and pennies and hiding them in a secret place. But the rising, raging Mississippi threatens the money, and Molly and Garrett go to retrieve it. But the current wins, and they find themselves headed up the turbulent Mississippi on a little homemade raft. Can Molly and Garrett survive? I couldn't put this book down! The part with the water moccasin was so scary, I felt as if I was there. A very, very exciting book! ... Read more

Book Description

Pennsylvania, 1859

Liam Quinn worries about Paddy, his frail younger brother, working in the breaker -- one of the dirtiest, most exhausting jobs in the mine. But without the money Paddy earns, they'll never be able to send for their younger sisters and be a complete family again.

It's a dream come true when Paddy finally escapes the breaker and gets hired as a trapper -- but then he gets sick. Rory Hamilton, the Quinn's landlady's daughter, comes up with a daring plan to keep Paddy's job open -- if she can overcome her dread of the mines that killed her father and brother. Just going underground tests Rory's courage. How will she survive when a cave-in traps her and Liam in the dustfilled air and unrelenting darkness of the mine? ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The Book Caved In
I recommend this book to any one who likes to read and have a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter or two. Also, anyone who likes historical fiction would like this book. One example is when the Coal mine collapsed in Pennsylvania in 1859. Also, I recommend this book to any one who used to work in the mines because it is very realistic. The main character, Liam, said, "You should never light a match in a mine because the coal dust is very flammable." Also, I recommend it for anyone who thinks that girls can't work in the mine, because they can do the same amount of work that the men do only they do it more efficiently. Liam said "he saw a little bit of mischief in Rory's eyes." Rory is a girl who subbed for Paddy, Liam's brother. I learned that the mine could be a dangerous place to work, not because it could cave in, but rather that your boss might abuse you, such as hitting you with a broomstick.

A girl must overcome her fears if she is to survive.
Rory Hamilton hates the mines that took her father and brother away from her, never to return. Now she and her mother make ends meet by running a boardinghouse for miners. Rory is friends with a boy her age named Liam Quinn who, along with his younger brother, Paddy, and widowed father, works in the mines saving money for his sisters to come to America from Ireland. One day Liam's brother gets sick and is in danger of losing his job if he stays home. Even though she is terribly afraid of going in the mine, Rory disguises herself as a boy so she can take Paddy's place until he is better. Rory picks the worst possible day to enter the mine, since it's the day of a terrible cave in that traps Rory and Liam underground. If she is to survive, Rory must face her worst fears. A great survival/adventure story set against a historical background.

UNDERGROUND ADVENTURE
This is a great adventure story with non-stop action. Being trapped in a cave is for some their worst nightmare. This is as close as most will ever want to be to going into a cave. For more underground adventure stories don't miss Steward's, "Tales of Dirt, Danger, and Darkness."

This book teaches about life in a coal mine in 1859.
Liam Quinn and his ten-year-old brother Paddy both work with their father in the coal mine of St.Claire, Pennsylvania, hoping that someday they will have enough money for their sisters to come and live with them and be a complete family again. Paddy is a breaker but then gets hired as a trapper boy, a better job. Paddy is sick with a bad cough. It's bad for him to work in the mines, but if he takes some time off to get well, he'll lose his job. Rory Hamilton, the Quinns' landlady's daughter, wants to help Paddy keep his job and to earn some money for her family, so she disguises herself as a trapper boy. But when a cave-in occurs, she, Liam and the other miners get trapped. Will they survive? Read this book and find out!

A cool new Survival! book set in a coal mine.
Rory Hamilton and Liam Quinn both live in the coal mining town of St. Claire, Pennsylvania, in 1859. Liam works with his father and sickly little brother Paddy in a coal mine. Ever since her father and older brother died in a cave-in at the mine, Rory has helped her widowed mother run a boardinghouse and worked at a local bakery. When Paddy is sick and can't work, he might lose his job. Rory is dreadfully afraid of the mines, but she volunteers to take Paddy's place for a few days. What she doesn't expect is a cave-in that threatens to trap her and Liam in the dust-filled, suffocating darkness of the mine. Can they escape before it is too late? Read this latest book in the action packed Survival! series by Kathleen Duey and Karen A. Bale to find out! ... Read more

Book Description

Hinckley, Minnesota 1894

Carrie Vaughn and Daniel Johansson are both hoping desperately that the forest fires raging outside Hinckley won't reach town. Carrie has promised her Papa she'll take a train to safety, but she knows she won't -- how could she ever leave her beloved horse, Midnight, to die in the fire? And Daniel's grandmother refuses to leave their boardinghouse -- even if he can somehow raise the train fare.

When all the hoping in the world can't hold back the thick, suffocating smoke and uncontrollable flames, Carrie's disobedience and Grandma's stubbornness put them all in grave danger -- can they escape the merciless path of the fire in time? ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A very good Survival book.
Thirteen-year-old Carrie's father told her to leave Hinckley on the train if the forest fire reached town - but Carrie doesn't want to leave her horse. Daniel, one of Carrie's friends, wants to leave Hinckley on thetrain - but he can't persuade his grandmother to come until it's too late.How will Carrie and Daniel manage to escape?

One of the best Survival! books.
Survival! Forest Fire is a very good book.The setting is realistic, and the characters act like real people might.For example, Carrie Vaughn, who's father is a volunteer firefighter, disobeys her father when he tellsher to take a train to St. Paul.She decides to stay with her horse,Midnight, instead.I think this action is realistic, although it isn't thesmartest thing to do in a fire. This book, I think, is a little moreexciting than the rest because some of the characters injure themselves,and that makes it harder to escape from the fire.This story was sort oflike Survival! Fire, but more exciting, as I have said.I think KathleenDuey and Karen A. Bale's description was fantastic.It really helped meimagine the setting in my mind.I would like to thank Kathleen Duey andKaren A. Bale on a job well done and encourage them to keep writing theseseries! ... Read more

Book Description

Bayou Teche, 1851

No one in Lily LeGrand's Cajun community is willing to help search for Paul Courville, missing in the bayou along with his mean-spirited older brothers, William and Mark. Why should they? Paul's wealthy plantation-owner father has made no secret of his disdain for Cajuns like Lily's family. But Paul has always been kind to Lily, defending her against his brothers' merciless taunts and humiliating pranks -- and Lily refuses to turn her back on him when his life is in danger.

On her own in the maze of the snake- and alligator-infested bayou, Lily knows she has more to fear than her father's wrath. Her treacherous journey will test both her knowledge of the swamp and her courage. Can she find Paul in time? ... Read more