Oblivion Road (Paperback)

by Alex McAulay (Author)
Key Phrases: snow cave, prison van, Oblivion Road, Pine Valley, Leonard Bell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The author excels at building suspense and providing nonstop action, constantly escalating the stakes in this fight for survival." -- Publisher's Weekly

Product Description
Five stranded teenagers must battle for their lives against a group of escaped convicts, and each other, in this shocking survival thriller from the author of Bad Girls and Lost Summer.

Courtney Stanton thinks she's on just another ski trip with her friends -- until a horrific car accident strands them all on an isolated Colorado road during a blizzard. Frightened but alive, Courtney and her companions discover an abandoned vehicle nearby, and seek help. But the vehicle turns out to be a prison van, with the inmates missing, and the guard's dead body in the front seat.

Soon after, a stumbling figure emerges from the snow, a handcuffed refugee from the van. He says he's been in prison for selling meth, but that he once served in the army. Dare they trust him? He pleads innocence about the guard's murder, warns them about the other fugitives, and promises he will help guide them out of the wilderness. But as the group begins a nightmare trek across the frozen landscape, they start to get the feeling he hasn't told them the entire truth, and someone -- or something -- is secretly watching their every move.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: MTV (November 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416548068
• ISBN-13: 978-1416548065
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #446,295 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 9, 2007

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

Five friends, Jeremy, Courtney, Reyna, Harris, and Melanie, just wanted to have a fun vacation. Skiing on the slopes and just hanging out. Everything was fine until the ride home.

Not knowing what happened, Courtney finds herself on a road with a guy, Jeremy, right beside her. The car the teens were in had crashed and flipped into a ditch, but none of them knows how it happened. All of them are fine, rescuing one another, but having someone rescue all of them seems impossible, especially when everything is isolated and a blizzard is closing in on them. The teens are stranded, with no way to call for help or find their way home -- but at least they have each other.

They all lose hope since there is no way out, that is until they see a van. Unfortunately, the van was once home to prisoners who were being transported, and who have escaped, leaving the drivers behind, dead. Surviving through harsh weather may have been hard, but now trying to stay alive with convicts loose seems much more difficult. Of course, not all convicts are bad, right? At least that is what the one convict says when he stumbles upon the teens.

The convict, J.G., says he was in the army and was only in prison for selling drugs and would not kill anyone, especially the guards. Sure, he may have helped Melanie, with her injured leg, and he knows all the medical terms and possibly a way for the teens to go home. But will the teens stick with him the entire time to be saved, or will they regret ever trusting him? Will all of them find their way home or will only a few make it?

Five teens, oblivious of what lies ahead, of what will happen in the end.

Being stranded and having to survive is Alex MacAulay's forte. In true fashion, being trapped and completely lost has to be the least of anyone's worries since there are more dangers that lurk in every corner. Another hit from MacAulay, who leaves his readers at the edge of their seat, wondering themselves if being stranded would be as exciting as this. Fans of Bad Girls and Lost Summer will not be disappointed.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How far will you go to survive? , March 13, 2008

A Kid's Review

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you're car crashed right in the middle of a blizzard? That is what happened to these five friends, Courtney, Jeffrey, Reyna, Harris, and Melanie in the realistic fiction novel, Oblivion Road by Alex Mcaulay. They were driving back from a ski trip when they drove into a forest and crashed. It was snowing heavily. The roads were blocked, but the kids still went. That was a terrible mistake. The car was thrown upside down, but luckily, no one died. However, Melanie was unconscious and in an extremely horrible state. Courtney and Reyna wandered to see if there was a car or someone there to help them. They found another car that was in an accident. This car was not an ordinary one. It was a prison van with the guard lying down on the back seat, dead. A few days later, one prisoner found the high school kids. He told them that he was only in that van because he was selling illegal drugs. The other guy who was in the van, was Leonard. He was a murderer. He killed his entire family and ate part of his sister! Leonard was out there, somewhere.
This information made everyone scared. Harris did not want to believe J.G., the prisoner. They had no choice. They had to believe him because they needed the help and J.G. said he could get it for them. There was a town 13 miles away. So, Courtney, J.G., Reyna, and Jeffrey set off to find the town. Harris stayed back with Melanie.
As they walked, they learned to trust J.G. Courtney managed to convince the others to cut off the prisoner's handcuffs. At one point, J.G. said he was in the army and trained to treat other's injuries. The team had to amputate one of Reyna's arms because it was stuck under a heavy rock. As they proceeded , something about J.G. changed. He appeared more rough. That is when Jeffrey and Reyna knew J.G. was hiding something from them. Courtney refused to believe it, for she was that desperate to go home. So, they continued to go towards the town when there was a terrible incident. An incident that would change their entire lives.
This book is told by Courtney's point of view. It was set, obviously, in a forest. It does not exactly say where the forest is located. I would recommend this book to any guy or girl who loves action-packed stories. It is a strong read for anyone ages twelve and up.
I absolutely love this book. It makes you wonder every page until the end. There are not any hints available. You would think the problem is to see if they could walk to the nearest town and call for help. It is only in the end do you see the real problem. A problem the teenagers had no idea was possible.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OBLIVION ROAD, January 17, 2008

By	Nicki "NICKI" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Imagine waking up in the snow and suddenly asking yourself "Wasnt I in a SUV with my friends? where are my friends? where am I?" This is how Courtney felt. She soon realized her and her friends had been on a ski trip and on the way back hit a deer and crashed the SUV. The SUV is wrecked and they are in the middle on nowhere. The cells phones are useless and walking with no direction is almost pointless. The stranded friends soon find themselves not alone in the woods anymore. After a hike to see if they can get help they stumble upon a empty prison van. Well almost empty if you count the dead prison guard in the front seat. The 5 friends take up camp in the SUV. Night falls and suddenly a man in handcuffs is outside. He's slowly dying in the snow. The friends help him and take him in as one of their own. He warns them there were dangerous men in that van but he isnt one of them.
Suddenly its a race against time for these friends and a convicted drug dealer. They are injured,cold,dhydrated and hungry. You can only last so long in those conditions. But the elements are not the only thing that could kill them. There are hungry wolves and covicted murders in the woods. Will they all survive? Will any of them survive? What things will they learn along the way? If you want to find out take a trip down OBLIVION ROAD.