Description:

Deep in trouble, deep in the canyons Fourteen-year-old Dylan Sands has come all the way to the Big Bend on the Texas-Mexico border to paddle the fabled Rio Grande with his cousin Rio. As the boys are packing their raft and canoe for ten days in the canyons, six Black Hawk helicopters appear overhead and race across the river into Mexico. The Army warns them that a hurricane is approaching the coast. Convincing themselves that their chances of running into a storm are slim, Dylan and Rio launch onto the wildest and most remote waters in the Southwest. Downriver, a man appears with a seven-year-old boy, begging for help . . . and the storm is upon them. Danger, suspense, and the ever-looming troubles in Mexico drive this white-knuckle adventure forward at a breakneck pace. ** ### From Booklist Fourteen-year-old Dylan arrives in a West Texas ghost town to meet his uncle and his cousin Rio for a canoe trip down the Rio Grande. Though his uncle has left for Alaska, he and Rio undertake the hazardous journey on their own. Dylan has barely learned to deal with scorpions when a hurricane bears down on the region, and a ruthless Mexican kidnapper demands a ride downriver for himself and the boy he holds captive. The cousins' growing bond and quick wits become as important as their ability to maneuver treacherous waters. Narrated by Dylan, the story unfolds in a disarming manner. The pace is quick, and the challenges are relentless, but the writing is so grounded in physical details and emotional realism that every turn of events seems convincing within the context of the story. A double-page map enables readers to trace the boys' journey along the Rio Grande. An exciting adventure story in an unusual setting. Grades 5-8. --Carolyn Phelan ### About the Author Will Hobbs is the award-winning author of nineteen novels, including *Far North*, *Crossing the Wire*, and *Take Me to the River*. *Never Say Die* began with the author's eleven-day raft trip in 2003 down the Firth River on the north slope of Canada's Yukon Territory. Ever since, Will has been closely following what scientists and Native hunters are reporting about climate change in the Arctic. When the first grolar bear turned up in the Canadian Arctic, he began to imagine one in a story set on the Firth River. A graduate of Stanford University, Will lives with his wife, Jean, in Durango, Colorado.