Drone Chase

December 11, 2020

Gr 7 Up-Ray's family moves from New York City to the Great Bear Rainforest in Bella Coola, Canada, to take care of his dying grandfather. While Ray misses his friends, he stumbles into a mystery that may allow him to put his passion for drones to use. A rescued orphaned bear cub is missing, though no one believes Ray's theories about theft and bear poaching. Ray already struggles to fit into his new town, with his neighbors regularly mocking his lack of outdoor instincts. Regardless of what everyone else thinks, Ray is determined to use his drones to rescue the bear cub. Not for the faint of stomach, this book shoves readers right into the action, with a mother bear being killed almost as soon as the story begins. It seems like the author has never been to New York City, since Ray regularly describes it as a place filled with gangs, muggers, and metal detectors. Ray's grandfather is verbally abusive to Ray and his mother, causing Ray's mother to leave, only to return a few days later because she is sorry to have abandoned the family. The grandfather never atones for anything. Two characters of the Nuxalk people play integral roles in the story, but their culture is reduced to throwaway details rather than authentic characterization. Two side characters are Korean, and all other characters are coded as white. VERDICT While it may appeal to adventure-seekers, this book contains too many questionable details to keep readers engaged.-Annamarie Carlson, Westerville P.L., OH

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 21, 2021
Grades 7-10 Ray, a city boy with no interest in backcountry survival, has been forced by bickering parents to move to the Canadian boonies to live with his dying grandfather. On a camping trip with the dreaded Outdoors Club, he smuggles his home-made drones to keep him entertained. But when the drones spy an injured animal, they lead to other discoveries that point to a ring of dangerous and illegal animal cruelty. Ray knows his drones may help him crack the case, if they don't get him killed first. Like any great survival story for reluctant readers, this kicks off with high adrenaline in a chapter-one bear attack and keeps on climbing. Everything from drone construction and manipulation to the landscape of the Great Bear Rainforest and from veterinarian medical knowledge to bear behavior is impressively researched and accessible. Ray is a flawed but likable protagonist, the author includes some nods to the Nuxalk people indigenous to the area, and the antagonists are wonderfully malicious, especially when combined with the man-versus-nature layer of hunting in prime bear-mating season. This is an adventure to sink your claws into.

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