Survivor Girl

May 15, 2019
Ali Kensington, 12, worships her father, star of Survivor Guy, a reality show à la Man vs. Wild. Ali is looking forward to going on location with her dad, whom she rarely sees because of his production schedule. Her excitement is marred by one small problem: Ali has been lying to everyone about her nonexistent survival skills; all she's done is read a lot of books. She's sure she's going to blow it on camera for the whole world to see. And her hero worship deflates upon discovering it's not just her dad, a camera, and miles of unforgiving wilderness, as she and his fans have been led to believe: There's a Hollywood-style set, complete with stunt doubles, fancy campers, and doughnuts for breakfast. Then an honest-to-gosh life-threatening situation arises when a wildfire breaks out, forcing Ali to call on her inner Survivor Girl. Ali's emotional growth is the main focus of the story. Her anger and misery are believable as she questions both the lies she's been told and the lies she's told and as she faces up to the lies she's told the most important person of all: herself. She'll have to accept her limitations, embrace her abilities, and discover a bravery she didn't know she had. Characters are assumed white. A strong story that shows survival is more than just getting through physical challenges. (Fiction. 9-14)

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June 28, 2019

Gr 3-6-Twelve-year-old Ali idolizes her reality TV survivalist father and wants to be just like him. When she gets the opportunity to join him in the Great Dismal Swamp, Ali is terrified she won't survive until she arrives and sees that the reality of television is not all it appears. Parent-child relationships, self esteem, and the value of truth and honesty are at the forefront of this adventure story. Ali's character is relatable and realistic; tween girls will see their struggles with body image, their parents, and fitting in. The other characters are not as fully developed as Ali, but they work well to support the issues in the story. While the book ends with an exciting survival scene, it takes a while to build up to the adventure and some of the events surrounding the falsehood of the reality TV show could have been cut to speed the pace. VERDICT Readers who enjoy modern realistic fiction will connect with Ali and her story, while adventure seekers may be left wanting.-Ellen Conlin, Naperville Public Library, IL

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