Downriver [Hardcover]

Will Hobbs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1991

Downriver by Will Hobbs is a compelling suspense novel filled with bravery, treacher, and heart-stopping adventure. Jessie has been sent to a nine-week wilderness program run by a Vietnam veteran with a reputation for straightening out incorrigible youths. She falls in line with the renegades of the program and leaves the others to find herself and the others in real danger.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Abandoning a wilderness education program, a group of teenagers set off on a challenging trek in this suspenseful adventure yarn. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-- Eight problem kids (four boys, four girls, high school age) have been sent to a camp called Discovery Unlimited where they are to meet problems, make responsible decisions, and develop as adults. "Hoods in the Woods" the kids call themselves. Action occurs in the outback of southwestern Colorado and northern Arizona as Al, their adult leader, programs the group first to climb Storm King Peak (which nearly results in fatalities) and then to raft the white water of the San Juan River. The Hoods decide rafting the Colorado River will be wilder; so they steal Al's van and equipment, drive to the put-in at Lee's Ferry, sneak past the park rangers, inflate their rafts, and seven embark--one deserts. Rafting the wild Colorado is heady but difficult and dangerous. Misadventures develop the kids, but also breed disasters. So when the rangers capture the group near Havasu Creek, not all resent the rescue. The book is exquisitely plotted, with nail-biting suspense and excitement. Jean Craighead George's River Rats (Dutton, 1979; o.p.) is similar but lacks such intricate development of characters and interpersonal relationships. --George Gleason, Department of English, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (March 30, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689316909
• ISBN-13: 978-0689316906
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (130 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #596,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

WILL HOBBS is the author of eighteen exciting outdoor adventure novels for upper elementary, middle school and young adult readers, as well as two picture book stories. Seven of his novels have been named Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and Ghost Canoe, Will's first mystery, won the Edgar Allan Poe national award for Best Young Adult Mystery. The ALA's list of the "100 Best Young Adult Books of the 20th Century" includes two of Will's titles: Far North and Downriver.

A graduate of Stanford University and a former reading and language arts teacher, Will lives with his wife, Jean, in Durango, Colorado. Visit Will's website at www.willhobbsauthor.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peril and menacing waves, May 6, 2005

By 

Brad Vonbargen (Hamilton, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Downriver (Mass Market Paperback)

As a senior in high school, you're always getting assignments on stuff to read. So whenever I'm forced to read a book or something I might as well get something that's interesting. Awesome, is the only word I can use to describe this book. It's packed with adventure and suspense and drizzled with confliction. Even some teen romance is thrown into the mix, only a little bit though.

This book is about this group of kids, who nicknamed themselves "hoods in the woods", and their daring escape from an outdoor education school. The main character, Jessie, is a teenage girl who was sent to the school because of bad behavior. Jessie and the rest of the group steal a van and some equipment for river rafting and drive to the Grand Canyon to run the mighty river. Without a river guide and just the food on the rafts they start downriver to face massive rapids ranking 8-10. Will they flip or get hurt? Will they even make it at all? And if they do make it, what happens to them since they've stolen the van?

I myself really enjoyed this book because of the detail to all the wondrous things you can see in the Grand Canyon. I personally have never been there, but this book makes me want to see it even more. I also really enjoyed how the author, Will Hobbs, had all the characters completely different yet they had to come together to try and overcome the rapids of the Colorado River. My favorite character was Adam. He was sent to the outdoor school because he was caught sneaking into girls houses and leaving them a rose on their pillow as he was dressed like a ninja. He's also the clown of the group, which I can really relate to.

Even if you hate outdoors and never want to white water raft, this is still an awesome book to read. It's a great book and even somewhat educational, but I'd recommend this book to anyone so you should give it a shot.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A-W-E-S-O-M-E, March 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Downriver (Mass Market Paperback)

I am 14 years old, and matter of fact, I just finished reading "Downriver" no less than 2 hours ago! It took me about 3 days to read, it usually takes me longer, just because I am never intersted in the book, and most of the time i don't even finsh reading most of the books I read! This book was totally different. I couldn't put it down. The characters are so real and the way things just fell into place made the story that more exciting. I am not a big fan of these kind of books, but when I started reading it, I knew after the 1st chapter that it would be a book that i know i will never forget! hope i made sense! thank you

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relationships, like Mother Nature, Can Be Rough AND Beautifu, December 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Downriver (Mass Market Paperback)

Will Hobbs has created an exquisitely plotted, nail-biting experience that has great morals and teaches about the values of friendship and family. The characters learn that nature brings people together and can change a person's outlook on life. The main character, Jessie, and her friends are at a summer camp for troubled kids that they call "Hoods in the Woods." At the beginning of the book, all of their lives are going down river. As they are plunged into the great adventure of rafting down the rough Colorado River, the characters' personalities and the conflicts between them come out. Troy is stunning but turns out to be selfish and narcissistic. Star is weak and fragile but transforms into a self-confident person. There are other characters too, each one very different. This really brings the story to life. You get this overwhelming feeling when you read this book, a feeling of how good life is if you can look at it in a certain way. You can feel the everlasting friendships that the characters form. You feel the tension as they fight for their lives against nature's forces. You know that with every catastrophe they face and overcome, they are only closer to the ultimate win that comes at the end when everything falls into place. It is a phenomenal book. I can say that I have found a respect not as much for nature, but for people. It has increased my awareness of how wonderfully different we are. The book twists into a novel about the love and friendships people can make when you get past your differences. I do have an attitude towards Mother Nature that she can be rough and beautiful. If you want to get all you can out of her, you have to experience them both.