Lost in the River of Grass is simply one of those good ole' survival stories. Nothing fancy, nothing paranormal, just two kids trying to make it out of the everglades alive. It reminded me of Hatchet, just in a very different setting.

What I liked most about the book is that it's realistic. Sarah and Andy, the two main characters, act their ages and react as you would expect them to in such a bad situation. Sure Sarah freaks out quite a lot and does her fair share of whining, but wouldn't you if you were a 14 year old stranded in the wild? (I'm 15-which is close enough-and I would) Also, the survival aspect was pretty cool to read and seemed realistic as well. It's safe to say that I now know a lot more about the Everglades, and my fear of fire ants has escalated considerably. Their whole situation is a result of a bad decision that they both made, and instead of getting off easy, they have to live with it.

Decent character development is basically a given, because after that whole ordeal it's hard to come home without having learned at least one lesson. However, I did think that Sarah got off a little easy when she came home. Her parents and teachers were completely forgiving, but I have a feeling that I'd be grounded for a LONG time if I ever pulled something like that. I liked the relationship between Andy and Sarah, because it seemed so...normal. Even in their circumstances they didn't fall in love at first sight or anything annoying like that.

My only complaint about the book is that nothing especially surprising or exciting ever happens. I mean, the alligators and other dangers would probably be pretty thrilling (in a bad way) in real life, but those feelings didn't really transfer to the page while I was reading.

Finally:
Lost in the River of Grass isn't the type of book I'd usually read, but the interesting survival story was refreshing and a good read.