The Speed of Falling Objects

August 1, 2019
A timid girl with one eye must survive in the Amazon rainforest. Ever since losing her left eye at age 7, almost 17-year-old Danger Danielle Warren hasn't fit her first name. Preferring "Danny" but nicknamed "Pigeon" by her classmates for her lack of depth perception, she's collected a plethora of fears, including heights, snakes, blindness, and being a burden or embarrassment--especially to her fearless, estranged father, Cougar, who hosts a survivalist reality show. When he invites her to an episode set in the Peruvian rainforest featuring hot teen actor Gus Price as a guest star, Danny vows to regain Cougar's respect. But when their plane crashes, Danny's life depends on conquering her fears. Vivid descriptions of the rainforest's lush, unforgiving landscape, teeming with oppressive heat, poisonous creatures, and edible grubs, plunge readers into the brutally realistic action. But as Cougar and his crew keep the camera rolling, the exploration of human nature becomes paramount, and Danny learns a harsh truth about her father. Through Danny's reflective narration, the group's expository confessions, and Gus and Danny's lightly described romance, Fischer (When Elephants Fly, 2018, etc.) perceptively examines such issues as divorce, narcissism, parental expectations, and forgiveness. Characters' interactions largely ring true, as does Danny's hard-won metamorphosis from self-conscious to self-confident. Danny, Cougar, and Gus are white; one crew member is Japanese American, and another is cued as black. Part adventure, part coming-of-age novel, and altogether a page-turner. (Fiction. 13-18)

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September 1, 2019

Gr 8 Up-After a childhood accident that leaves Danger "Danny" Warren with one eye and ultimately an estranged father, she jumps at the chance when her famous survivalist dad, Cougar, invites her to appear on his show for her birthday. Even better, she'll be filming with heartthrob-of-the-moment Gus Price in the Amazon forest. Disaster strikes when a violent storm throws the crew's plane into uncharted wilds. Now, Danny has to rely on her instincts, inhibited by a past that made her fearful and indecisive, and a group of perfect strangers to survive the jungle. This is an adventure-survival novel driven by the clear and relevant theme of what happens when children realize their parents are only human. Mature Danny easily finds a home in the hearts of readers as she spends a significant amount of time with her father for the first time. Paired with a unique plot, Danny's story is a memorable one. Fischer throws an impressive amount of detail and knowledge of the natural and medical worlds into the rich setting while tracing character arcs that are both realistic and riveting. Through Danny, Fischer thoughtfully leads readers through growth and understanding in challenging physical and mental circumstances that are fascinating in their own right. A seemingly extraneous love story muddies an otherwise engrossing personal journey, but does conveniently help to move Danny's evolution. VERDICT For fans of Jessi Kirby's The Other Side of Lost and Danika Stone's Switchback, this is a shining star among young adult survivalist stories.-Abby Hargreaves, District of Columbia Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 28, 2019
At nearly 17, detail-oriented Danger Danielle Warren (“Danny”) is eager for an opportunity to connect with her celebrity survivalist father, Cougar. So, she ignores her reservations about dangerous conditions and wildlife and joins him on a trip to Peru to record an episode of his popular television show. The episode’s featured guest is teen heartthrob Gus Price, who travels along with Danny, Cougar, three crew members, and a seasoned pilot, but the trip quickly goes wrong when a storm causes the group to veer off course and crash-land in the jungle. The intensity of Danny’s quest to prove herself to her father, her resentment toward her mother, and insecurity about her own self-worth and abilities, in part due to internalized insecurities about the night that she lost the use of one eye, is heightened by the beauty and danger of the Amazon. Readers will be captivated by the ways in which each character’s true self is laid bare as their numbers dwindle, their carefully constructed masks falling aside to reveal their inner natures. Ages 13–up.

September 15, 2019
Grades 8-12 Danny is the daughter of TV reality-show star Cougar Warren, who takes celebrities on outdoor adventures. He's a savvy survivor of extreme conditions?and a largely absent father. For Danny's seventeenth birthday, he invites her along on a trip to the Amazon with Gus Price, the hottest teen actor around. But when their plane crashes into the rain forest, the crew begin to die off, leaving it up to Danny and Gus to make their way to safety and bring back help for the survivors. Fischer's tightly constructed novel is packed with gruesome and fascinating details about Amazonian flora and fauna, but at its heart is Danny's desire to create a relationship with the father she idolizes, despite her mother's cautions. While readers may be frustrated by Danny's cluelessness regarding his faults and skeptical of the romance building between her and Gus, Fischer has created a sympathetic, believably flawed, and satisfyingly strong heroine whose emotional journey is as compelling as the physical hardships of the rain forest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

armcginn - Danny is no stranger to falling- after a bad fall at age seven that resulted in the the loss of her left eye, Danger Danielle Warren is a shell of her former adventurous self. But when her long-gone father, star of his own wilderness-survival reality show COUGAR offers her a chance to join him for a show co-starring teen actor Gus Price in the Amazon Rainforest, Danny jumps at the chance to reunite with her father and prove that she can still be the girl she was before the accident. The trials of the rainforest change Danny and bring many revelations. Readers will not be able to put it down! A page-turner to the end, Fisher’s The Speed of Falling Objects is a great book!