Breakfast Club meets extreme sports...
Rating: 4/5
A loner, a jock, an outsider, an Instagram influencer. At first, they can’t see anything that they have in common. As their high school river rafting trip unfolds, the unpredictable river forces them to rely on each other. Social masks start to fall as, one-by-one, each teen reveals a deep secret the other three don’t know.
I was given a copy of this book through Shadow Mountain Publishing asking that I read it and feature it on my page. I couldn't have been happier for this opportunity! Thank you!
This story is extremely beautiful and powerful. There’s so much to be learned from this story. This book showcases the concepts of don’t be so quick to judge others, forgive easy, accept help from others, be willing to let others in, and so many others like these… I could go on.
As we learn each of the character’s stories and who they truly are, beyond what we see on the surface, we see they’re more than what people immediately assume is true about them. As is the case with each of us.
There were two quotes I read that I thought were very deep and thought-provoking. I made note of them:
Page 172-173: “Stories are webs not straight lines...” “You’re seeing the story move from A to B to C in a straight line, when in reality a great many strands come together…”
This couldn’t be more true. We often forget that there is more going on in someone’s like that we see or hear. It’s when we ignore or forget this that we lay blame on others or ourselves. I can relate to this quote on many occasions in my life.
Page 183: “Choices will always exist, and when they present themselves, I hope to always reach from the right hand. Because forgiveness is the real river we run in this life.”
Another beautiful truth. Every single day we’re given countless choices. And we have to try and make the right choice. In this river of our lives, we sometimes wonder if we made the right ones.
I will say there felt to be a level of unrealisticness to this story on some levels. On the idea of how these four teens happened to be on this trip, especially Indie having no say in whether she wanted to go on this trip. The other’s I can kind of see why they had no say. But Indie’s seems unlikely, it would have made more sense if she was given a choice. Plus the level of danger this trip is, I can’t logically see how a school would allow this trip to ever occur. I know there are trips that happen like these for groups outside of schools, like scouts, but a school trip? I just can’t see it. But I’ll let it slide for fiction-sake.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. But it was over sooner than I wanted. I wish there was a bit more of the after the trip, how the teens continued being friends. Maybe a bit into their first week back to school. I guess I can always just daydream about it! One thing I really like is it was such a quick read, even though it was only 209 pages, the pages constantly flowing to the next. It definitely gave off the vibes of the modern breakfast club. I’ve labeled it “breakfast club meets extreme sports” because well that’s the truth. We start with basically four strangers and they leave this trip forever changed, bonded, forever friends. And…
The boy got the girl.