Central Kansas Library System

Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing.

"When a fire engulfs an Oregon forest, a group of trapped hikers must find another way out"--

For most of Ben's life, he has been a kid without a mom. He has his dad, who knows Ben doesn't like oatmeal and always hugs Ben before bed. And he has Sunshine, his loyal little dog, who is never far from his side. But his mom, who left when he was young, has just been a story, faint in his memory. Now he's about to spend a whole week with her on her remote island in the middle of the northern Minnesota wilderness. Though he's nervous about bears...

To evade their mother's abusive boyfriend, brothers Jake, thirteen, and Taylor, eleven, venture from the suburbs of Pittsburgh toward the wilds of Wyoming in search of the father they have not seen in four years, using their wilderness skills to survive against both natural and human dangers. Includes wilderness tips.