Wildfire Run
Gr 3-7&ndash;Luke, son of the president, worries deeply about terrorists and crazy people. While he is on vacation at Camp David with best friend and fellow robotics nut Theo, he feels safer than he has in a long time. Just after Callie, the assistant chef's daughter and Luke's longtime enemy, arrives, a disastrous earthquake strikes. When a wildfire surrounds the camp, injuring and possibly killing several adults during evacuation, Luke and his friends are left on their own and must use their wits to overcome nature's worst. Kids will enjoy the adventure and realistic characters. Luke and friends may be part of the country's elite, but they bicker and problem-solve just like regular kids. As Luke develops into a more confident boy, readers will cheer for his progress. Most interesting are the contraptions and gadgets built by the children in order to overcome obstacles and up their chances of survival. Recommend this to fans of T. S. Fields's Danger in the Desert (Rising Moon, 1997) and Gary Paulsen's Hatchet (Bradbury, 1987). An accessible story with lots of action.Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix Public Library, AZ&copy; Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.