Stranded

Smith, Nikki Shannon. Stranded
September 17, 2024 by Scholastic Inc.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ava is graduating from 5th grade, but not looking forward to the summer. Everyone else seems to be able to do what they want, like her brother Alex who will be going to basketball camp. Ava loves the outdoors, and wishes she could be like her Aunt Raven, who lives in the Adirondacks, so when her parents ask her what she wants to do, she asks if she can spend the summer with her Aunt. They reluctantly agreed, and soon Ava is learning a lot about what it means to live in the wilderness. Aunt Raven was left the cabin by a professor, so works only occasionally, and tries to live off the land. She and Ava's mother had a falling out when she moved, but mainly because Ava's mother missed her twin. Ava is glad to be in the wilderness and has a list of things that she wants to do, like climb all 46 larger peaks and swim in the lake every day. Unfortunately, Raven's lifestyle requires a lot of work, and there are chores that have to be done before winter comes. The two do go on some camping trips, and Ava gains a few skills, like cooking over a fire and being mindful of wild creatures. After a trip to town to get provisions and check e mail, Ava is inspired by seeing the local school to ask her parents if she can spend the entire year with her Aunt. All of the adults agree, and Ava is soon doing her home school work and mailing it in, along with weekly letters to her parents. When her Aunt has to go to California to help a friend with a conservation project, she e mails Ava's mother about this, and arranges for Ava to be picked up. Ava is very angry that her plans have been scuttled, so when her parents don't show up on time, she encourages her Aunt to go so she doesn't miss her plane. The next day, when her parents still don't show up, Ava realizes that her Aunt mistyped the address, and even though she knows her parents aren't aware of what's going on, she decides to stay on her own, more or less to spite them. For a while, things are okay. The power cuts occasionally, the roof leaks a bit, and Ava is too tenderhearted to kill any animals to eat. She gets a tick in her arm, which isn't great, but when there is a huge storm, a tree falls on the cabin and destroys it. She gathers the resources she can, and tries to stay in place for a while, but eventually walks north to get to the nearest neighbors. They aren't there, but she breaks into their cabin and gets some food. She stays there for a while, and finds a puppy under the house that she takes care of. She also kills a coyote with a bow and arrow, and cooks the rabbit that the coyote had killed. She eventually goes back to her aunt's and stays in the shed. Her arm is infected by the tick, and she is fevered. She takes a knife, sterilizes it, and cuts out the tick, but knows she needs to get help. There's a big snowstorm that traps her in the shed, but she manages to climb out and bring the puppy, Ronnie (for Adirondacks) with her. Luckily, she hears a vehicle on the road. Her parents have gotten a call from Raven, wanting to wish Ava a happy birthday, and come to rescue her. Ava is a little regretful that she put herself in danger, but is glad that she got to spend time in the wilderness. 

Strengths: I adored Aunt Raven, and feel like we didn't get quite enough of her story. She was very understanding to take in her niece and allow her to spend so much time in her small cabin with her. What patience! She does her best to teach Ava some survival strategies, and to teach her that being in the wilderness is not the vacation that Ava thinks it will be. The Adirondacks sound very beautiful and interesting, and it's no surprise that Ava, having been raised in New York City, is interested in being outdoors. I love that the author wanted to show a Black girl having an outdoor adventure; with the exception of the new Camp Twisted Pine by Burch, I'm not sure that there are any others. 
Weaknesses: There was not enough time spent with the puppy; if a dog appears in a survival book, it has to save the main character at some point in time! While Ava's survival skills and attitude will be perfectly understood by young readers, I recently reread George's 1959 My Side of the Mountain, and there where several points in time when I thought "Ava, you're no Sam Gribley." Again, Ava has few backwoods skills, but I wanted her to either repair the cabin and continue to live there on her own, or hike to safety (while fighting off the requisite bear, baking tree bark bread over a campfire, and surviving a snow storm with just a tarp) with Ronnie because I have read way too many outdoor survival books. 
What I really think: I will definitely purchase a copy of this because I love the idea that Ava is determined to fight the stereotype that Black people don't belong in the wilderness, and because this had some fresh twists on the outdoor survival story. Hand this to readers of Hashimoto's The Trail, Richards' 15 Secrets to Survival, or Wynne-Jones' The Starlight Claim. 

Agh! Scholastic has released this in paperback only, but at least Follett has a prebound copy.