Rescue

INSPIRATIONAL:  Marissa is your typical teenager. She goes to school, has friends, loving parents she doesn’t always get along with (her mom especially), and a crush on her school’s bad boy. Life is going as usual until her parents decide to send her to Lima—a decision that will change Marissa’s life.

While flying to Lima, Marissa feels the plane plummeting. She wakes up stranded in the Amazon with no idea how to contact anyone.  To make matters worse, she is the only survivor, aside from a two-year old Monica — whose life is now in her hands. Though Marissa’s only goal is to survive and make it home, with Monica by her side and the Amazon testing her, she will gain more than she ever thought possible.

“Rescue” is an adventure thriller with feelings reminiscent of “Heart of Darkness” and “Lord of the Flies”. Though the basic concept has been done before, it is not often found in modern or popular writing. This difference provides the reader with a fresh breath of air and three perpetual questions: “Is Marissa going to survive? Would I be able to survive? Could I help Marissa?”

The author grabs the reader’s attention and the reader becomes invested in both the characters and the story. However, the author chose to write in first person, present tense narration, which causes a divide between the main character and the narrator. Though they are the same, the voices are too distinct. Additionally, the reader feels the author could have better distinguished narration from the character’s thoughts and there is one loose thread that is never wrapped up. Overall, this book is more than worth reading.

Jacey Lee