The Raft by S.A. Bodeen

Title: The Raft
Author: S.A. Bodeen
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Survival Fiction, Action/Adventure
Publisher: Feiwel Friends
Date: August 21, 2012
Length: 231 pages

I ordered this book out for my school library

Robie is an experienced traveler. She's taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there's a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn't panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft.
And then . . . she's in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that's when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there's no sign of help on the way.

Description from Goodreads

The challenge: demand for action adventure stories has increased BUT the stories cannot have any fantasy elements. At. All. Not everybody enjoys fantasy and I have a large group of reluctant readers who enjoy realistic adventure but need something faster paced to keep their interest. Do you know how hard it is to find an action/adventure book for the MG/YA crowd that does not have zombies, gods, or sorcerers? It's hard. The Raft is an older book but has remained a popular library pick since 2012.

What I liked

Fast Pace: Kids can get turned off by a thicker book. It may be because they are reluctant readers and intimidated by the length, they have a large school/ activity work load, etc. So a lot of times my students will nix a book just on how long it looks. The Raft is one of those books that if I can just get kids to start it, they will get sucked in and quickly forget about how long it is. Bodeen has also nicely balanced the pace so that the story feels fast but readers aren't left behind.

The tension: Students and I all tend to describe this book as "Ahh!" The tension works well with the pace and kind of makes it a hard book to put down. You worry about characters, you worry about sharks, you worry about water and sunburns, you really worry about sharks. This element of the book is what really pulls readers in.

Robie was frustrating but realistic: Robie was a pretty good character. She makes some questionable decisions, and I did want to strangle her when the plane was going to crash, but she recognizes her flaws. She is desperately afraid and realizes she wasn't as grown up as she thought; she wants and needs an adult (preferably a family member, but anyone who knows what to do would be a plus). Max's injury and her freak outs aren't helping, but Robie tries to pull herself together. She's terrified but is doing her best to hold it together so that she and Max can survive. Yes, she frustrated me, but I found her reactions completely realistic for a terrified kid (or adult). She clings to Max as that adult beacon of safety even though she's having to do all of the work because he's too weak. Robie's knowledge of what exactly is out there (tiger sharks) and what can happen (they'll eat you) made her situation scarier and made her fear and hesitation more believable and understandable.

No Romance: Yeah! A female heroine with that interacts regularly with a male character and she doesn't fall in love!

Interesting information about Midway: the setting became a bit of a character itself. Very realistic, well described, and researched.

What I'm on the fence about

The "twist": Only bring this up because some readers consider it a twist and they weren't sure if they liked it. It's not really a twist, I just end up addressing it a lot. If you don't catch it at the start (or several other times in the book) then you're told half way through. It's not hidden and works really well with the story. Some kids just don't catch the clues the first time around.

Rating: 4

I read this book not so much for myself, but for the appeal it would have for my students. The flow of action, suspense, and terror of the shark chomping variety will definitely appeal to middle school and some YA readers. While Robie did frustrate me she was a totally believable teenager facing her fears and doing what was needed to survive. I thought this story worked very well, it made me twitchy and stressed out, and it read quickly. This book is great for its intended audience and I'm giving it 4 stars.

What are some of your favorite survivor stories? I avoided them for a long time because I was a bit traumatized by The Call of the Wild, but now work has forced me back into it.