About the Book:
Book: Off The Rails – A Wilderness Survival Adventure
Author: Susan Count
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Just because your cousin jumps from a train in the wilderness doesn’t mean you should too.
After planning a fun experience for a year, two Texas cousins make their first trip to Montana. When their train stalls, the boys leap from it into the white wilderness, beginning a perilous run for their lives.
As a blizzard hits, the boys spend a miserable night trying not to freeze. They struggle along the tracks to find shelter, but a disaster leaves them exposed to the elements and every famished wild creature.
Frustrated by their too-real situation, Davy and Anderson struggle to endure. Instead of vacationers at a wolf sanctuary, they become players in an unplanned survival experience.
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this story. The author did a good job of keeping me wondering how the boys would ever get out of the wilderness. She also did a great job of showing how one poor choice can lead to another… and another… and another. At the beginning of the book, Davy complained that his cousin Anderson always managed to ruin adventures. However, he forgot that when Anderson jumped off a train to see what was calling for help in the wilderness! That led to a long series of mistakes and near misses.
I won’t be offering this book to my sons. They are all too old for the target audience, and would not like it. However, younger boys, or even girls, would likely enjoy it. My 11-year-old daughter enjoyed it. She said it was good writing, and had a good lesson in it (Look before you leap, or if you know something is wrong, but someone else is doing it, just don’t, in her words.) She says it was an exciting story that made her want to keep reading. She also says that it would be good for boys younger than herself, because it is really easy to read.
I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.
About the Author:
Susan Count writes for the joy and entertainment of young readers. She is an Amazon best-selling, award-winning author of the Dream Horse Adventures Series, Dream Pony Riders Series, and Texas Boys Adventures.
She prefers to create stories in a quiet zone. Out her window, her mind wanders through the forest and keeps her in a grateful, contented state of being. Susan writes at a fabulous antique desk that has secret compartments filled with memories, mysteries, and story ideas. As a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and American Christian Fiction Writers, she takes studying the craft of writing seriously.
Susan confesses to being overly fond of brownies, and horseback riding on forest trails. She is a lifelong equestrian and is owned by a Rocky Mountain Horse.
Her newest release, Off The Rails – A Wilderness Survival Adventure was written for her four grandboys who wanted an adventure of their own. What’s a fairy grandmother to do but wave her magic pen and create.
More from Susan:
Ten of my novels are horse books for girls. On the rare occasions that I do a book sales table, I’m inevitable asked if I’ve written any books for boys. So, I wrote this two book series (Texas Boys Adventures) because you asked and kept asking. You and my four grandsons. Finding wholesome books that will engage 8- to 12-year-old boys is a parental challenge.
I’m so old school. Let the kids keep their childhood for as long as possible. I believe in protecting their young hearts and minds. Give them adventures where they learn to build friendships and be the hero of their own stories. Capture their nterest and then encourage and strengthen them to grow into the arrows they are destined to be.
To purchase your copy, click here.
To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.
To enter a fun giveaway, click here.
Leave a Comment