Customer Reviews

Downriver

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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

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.

Get onboard and ride the roaring rapids of the Grand Canyon, in Will Hobbs thrilling tale, Downriver. Downriver is sure to keep its readers on the edge of their seats and surprse them with many twists and turns throughout this entire gripping book.
In the story Downriver, a group of eight teenage outcasts "borrow" gear and equipment from the juvenile delinquent program, Discovery unlimited, A.K.A "Hoods in the woods." The children then decide to talk a life risking and darin adventure pirating and white water rafting in the heart of the grand canyon. They encounter many challenges along there trip, such as ferocious storms, raging rapids and brudial injuries. They had no idea what troubles the grand canyon holds.
In the "hoods in the woods" adventure group, theres Jessie, the narrator who enters our minds as a very confined and troubled girl and leaves as an ambitious "go-getter." Al is the leaser if the nine month program, but Troy who initially appears to be sweet and innocent, takes over Al's job as the uncontrollable leader. He becomes demanding, hurtfall and sellfish. Star comes into the picture as a shy, quite girl with a mysterious past. As she and Jessie get to know each other better, her history unfolds and she becomes a brave, friendly soul. Rita, Pug, Adam and Freddy tag along too. All of these eight characters are sent to Discovery Unlimited because there troublsome pasts have come back to haunt them.
With the help of Will Hobbs vivid and descriptive language, you can practically hear the water thundering off of the canyon walls. He creates wonderful sensory images by using vocabulary like ruby red, ferocious angry rapids, and tricking wandering streams. Mr. Hobbs also uses similies like as a viscious as a lionand as sweet as sugar. Will Hobbs makes you feel like you are in the grand canyon and white water rafting in the captivating adventure.
Although Downriver was an awesome and amazing book, there are still a coupl of changes I would have made. Such as, I would of included fewer characters in the in the story because it got a little hard to follow and understand. I also would have given the story a less predictable ending.
Downriver will be most enjoyed by children ages 12 to 16 because of the language and the context of the story. Its recommended for people who also enjoy survival or adventure books.
Will Hobbs is a very creative and unigue author- he makes you feel like you are in the grand canyon, white water rafting in the wet and wild adventure. Most of the readers of Downriver give it four stars and highly recomment. We hope you will give it a go too. Have a fun time pirating down the Grand Canyon with Jessie and the gang!

Downriver was a great book! I recommend this book to people who like adventure. This book has a lot of action and scary parts. When you starting reading this book you will never want it down. Also you will be on the edge of your seat. The book is about a camp where the kids go and work together and they go off and learn new things everyday about each other and about themselves. You will love this book!

THis is a very good book. I sont like to read but i really enjoyed readin this. It is very funny and also lots of action! I would really recommand this boook!

Downriver is a great book. It was about a group of teens that ditched their outdoor education program to go river rafting. Jessie and some other friends of hers used borrowed equipment to explore the Grand Canyon's roaring rapids. When they went to go river rafting they had no adults and no river map.

I decided to read Downriver because my brother read this book and he highly recommended it to me. He thought I would enjoy this book because i like any book that is adventerous and wild. I also read some book reviews on line and it seems to have high review comments. Most of the comments said that Downriver was a very good book to read so I decide to read it for my self.

My favorite part of the book was when Jessie went back to the camp and the first thing she did was to go look in the mirror. I would have never guessed that she would visit the mirror first. Insetad I whould have just taken a shower and forget about the mirror. I also thought it was sort of funny too.

My class of sophomore high school students read Downriver as a class and loved it. Their raves were directed primarily toward the characters. They thought that Hobbs' choice of Jessie as the first person narrator helped them to relate both to the conflicts in action and the characterizations. Action, believable characters, and conflict were the highlights for these students. I would highly recommend this novel for reluctant readers.

Exciting for young readers. It takes you through the growth of new friendships, will journeying through the trials and tibulations of new experiences. Very exciting! You feel like you are in the Grand Canyon yourself.

Will Hobbs is well known for his wonderful novels that use nature, and Downriver is no exception. This book struck a chord with me due to its nature setting. Any nature fan best check this out. Jessie, the main character, is an intriguing one. She is sent to a youth camp for wayward children after flipping a car, and after her mother's death. Her father seems to be the ultimate evil to her throughout the book for sending her there. This hate for her father interested me and kept be reading. She joins a group with 7 other kids: Adam, Pug, Star, Troy, Rita, Heather, and Freddy. These characters offered a range of emotions and were quite diverse in their own right. Troy and Freddy emerged as two major leaders amongst them, while their adult guide Al seemed to lay back. After various tasks they must complete (I don't want to give much away) they arrive at the decision to run the San Juan River with Al, or steal the rafts and run The Colorado. Ultimately, they steal the rafts and run the Colorado. The depth of the characters fascinated me, in addition to how they play in each other's lives. On the River, alliances are formed, enemies are made and hearts are broken. This book was truly a great read, and a must for anyone even remotely interested in nature. The characters fascinated me and I am sure they will fascinate you as well. I loved the experience of Downriver and I definitely recommend it to anyone: I solid five stars.