Runaway Storm

D.E. Knobbe
Emerald Book Company (2010) 
ISBN 9781934572351
Reviewed by Dylan James (age 13) for Reader Views (01/10)


Nate was furious! He just found out that his mom lied to him about the big “one year move” and they would actually be staying there much longer. Well, he’s had enough of his mom forcing him to do things. Nate decided to run away for a few weeks for some fun kayaking and exploring. He never counted on meeting other runaways, dealing with a treacherous storm, and fighting drug smugglers! Will Nate survive to get home? Or will he be overwhelmed by the situations and problems that face him?!

With applause, I give “Runaway Storm” by D.E. Knobbe four stars. Although some parts of it, like most teen adventure books, are rather unrealistic, it still brings a quality of realism. He has to deal with adult decisions very fast and unexpectedly, and the stress of it shows. This book will most likely be appreciated fully by readers thirteen and older, as they can relate to some of the problems Nate faces. There are drug references and mild language and violence.  The drug smugglers are clearly made out to be bad people and not romanticized at all. The one “good guy,” who tries to sell marijuana to feed his brother, decides not to after talking to Nate. The only point of violence is when a kid falls out of a tree, and a girl gets grazed by a bullet. The language is mild compared to today’s teenage world, with only several curse words even in very unlucky situations. The book is full of instances where Nate helps others and learns about himself in the process.

“Runaway Storm” has everything to make it an excellent adventure story, but I would have liked it better had some parts been elaborated on a bit more. For instance, if Nate was taught kayaking by his dad, he would have been taught things like what to do in a storm. Also, by making the storm part longer and more interesting, not only would it add pages to the book, but it would make more sense than ending it in a page or two. Overall, though, “Runaway Storm” was a great survival-adventure story, and I hope to see more by D.E. Knobbe.

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