Fishing in Fire

Reedy, Trent. Fishing in Fire

February 7, 2023 by Norton Young Readers 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

We've met the young people of McCall, Idaho before, in Hunter's Choice, and Racing Storm Mountain. This time, we focus on Annette Willard. She's passionate about writing for the school newspaper, hates all of the drama at school, and struggles to find her place in her large and busy family. She finds a lot of solace in fishing, so suggests a fishing trip with Swann Siddiq, Kelton Fielding, and Hunter and Yumi Higgins. Annette has a crush on Hunter, but feels awkward around him, and feels that if the group is in the woods, the girls won't judge her by her clothes. She has high hopes for the trip, and impresses Swann by borrowing her father's Gator, somewhat against the rules. The group head into the forest for a good place to fish. There's drama even on this trip, with Swann and Kelton flirting, and McKenzie, Morgan, and Mason showing up unexpectedly. Swann gets thr group involved in a fishing contest with the other kids, and soon they are venturing further into the woods. They aren't really prepared for the type of outing, but do have a little success with their fishing. When a wildfire starts to spread their way, though, will the group be able to survive?

Strengths: As we've seen in the previous books, all of these young people have a variety of different skills that are useful in the wilderness. They sometimes work well together, but are often at odds with each other, which ups the drama. The real draw for me is the great description of being outdoors-- what better book to read for the active young person who is stuck inside during the school day? This is a great escapist adventure, with pulse pounding survival details as well. While I would never head into the woods without all the supplies in the world (I've read too many books, like Johnson's Falcon Wild, which made me keep water and food in my car for when I even go three miles to the grocery store!), it makes sense that tweens don't think all that far ahead. Maybe Reedy needs to write a nonfiction book about properly safe outdoor adventures, even though those wouldn't be nearly as much fun to read about! 
Weaknesses: The mix of social drama and outdoor adventure is a bit odd. My readers who like outdoor adventure aren't usually too interested in interpersonal relationships, and vice versa. That said, Behren's Alone in the Woods combines the two and is very popular. 
What I really think: I'd love to see more outdoor adventure books from Reedy, since these books have lots of details, great covers, and are the perfect length. Stand alones would be better, since replacing lost books in a series can be a problem. Hand this to readers who enjoyed books like Henry's Playing with Fire, Davis' Partly Cloudy, Rhodes' Paradise on Fire, Gratz's Two Degrees, or Philbrick's Wildfire.