From the back cover: "Suddenly the campfire burst into flames. The long dry grass flared and the flame leaped into the trees. Bush fire! Michelle, Andrew and Jason fleeing the fire - lost, hungry and ill - began a desperate battle for survival in the bush".
I was expecting this story to be about a bush fire, but that part is all over in the first few chapters. Most of the book is about three siblings, Michelle, Andrew and Jason, surviving after the fire.
Michelle tells the story. She is the eldest of the three and the most reluctant to go on holiday with her younger brothers. Her parents convince her to go with her Aunt and Uncle. They light a small cooking fire too far from the river and too close to the dry bush and without warning the wind picks up the fire and lights the bush. Chaos ensures, then the adults get separated from the children. They are lost in the wilderness and bush for two weeks before they are found by hunters.
For the children, what transpires in the next two weeks is a messy and difficult journey back to civilisation. They have to find things to eat and places to sleep and try to find out where they are. Andrew is the only one with any bush sense, and Jason the youngest becomes very sick. The book is just as much about the relationships between the three siblings as it is about their survival. There are lots of squabbling and fighting until they work out how to get along and manage together. The circumstances definitely bring the two older children to their breaking points.
Once the children are found, the book has a short chapter and then ends.
Personally, I don't think this is one of Anne de Roos's best novels, but there are definitely lessons about getting along with other people, and New Zealand bushcraft. It would've been helpful if the book had a map to follow.
I recommend the book for boys and girls aged 10 and over.
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