The Raft by S.A. Bodeen

Pages: 231
Intended Audience: Teens
Genre: Real life/Survival
Notes for Parents: There are some graphic descriptions that may be difficult for some readers.

The Back Cover
Robie is an experienced traveler. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new copilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket and she sees him struggle with a raft.
And then…she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is yet another cover that tells too much. You may as well skip the first 50 pages.

What’s good?
Short chapters keep most of the story moving at a pretty fast pace. I found the information about the Midway Atoll, the albatross, monk seals, and other ecological facts interesting. There were many emotional moments, especially near the end, and a big revelation that caught me off guard (It was a true “now I get it” moment). Although the ending itself was fairly predictable, it was good.
Best Part: I loved the Hunger Games reference.

What isn’t good?

While I like the short chapters, some of the choppy sentences meant to convey emotion didn’t work for me and felt overdramatic. The main character, Robie, was irritating. There were several odd occurrences in the storyline that made me question the author’s skills, but everything became clear when Robie revealed a secret. While the revelation fixed everything, I almost put the book down several times before that because of what I thought was inconsistencies. Perhaps I should have clued in sooner that something was amiss.
Worst part: My confusion before the big revelation.

Recommendation þþooo
I love survival stories and there were parts of this book that I liked, but ultimately I think it failed. Although Robie’s actions proved she was a strong and capable young woman, her whining and moaning made her difficult to like. The big revelation was a good idea but poorly executed. There are better survival stories out there. Sadly, I can’t recommend this book.

Bodeen, S.A. The Raft. New York: Scholastic, 2012.