I was hoping in my search for great living books to find some gold nuggets. Well, I did it! This is one of them. I've finished a few books lately and I was a tad disappointed - the books were not hitting the mark. But from the first page of this book my whole book soul relaxed, because I knew I had found what I was looking for - a genuine living book.
This story is about Marion, a 12-year-old girl, the daughter of a well-known mountaineer, who joins a party of two adults and three children for a 10-day tramping expedition into the mountains of Fiordland from Lake Te Anau. They bump into Stanley Peacock, an eccentric but harmless old man who has been hunting for a sighting of the extinct moa for twenty years. Their expedition takes a sudden detour when one of the party sneaks off with Mr Peacock to hunt for moa and the rest of the party are left to chase them through the mountains. Then Valerie, the adult female in the party breaks her ankle. The party are then stranded in the mountains without help or food for 10 days.
The story is gripping, adventurous and completely unpredictable. I usually find children's stories very predictable, but not this one. It is also very believable. I've been tramping in New Zealand and their story rang very true to my own experiences, except all the accidents!
There are gems weaved into this story that make it a real living book - Marion's wonder at nature and desire to see the mountains. Paul's ability to "see" the birds in the bush and how he teaches Marion to see them. And how Mr Flemming gives everyone a little geography lesson about Fiordland at the beginning. All wonderful ways how the author blends learning into the story. A few examples anyway.
Anne de Roo also has developed the characters and their bonds well. As the party makes decisions and bands together to survive, you see them work through tensions, challenges and change, and she really weaves their personalities and conflicts together in an intelligent and insightful way. There was a lot of depth and emotion to process with this book. The writing style is excellent too.
I am really impressed with this book and I highly recommend it to read for homeschoolers interested in New Zealand geography (and there's a little history there too).
I am really looking forward to reading more from Anne de Roo.