About Me

I'm the school librarian at G.S. Lakie Middle School. As you can see - me, reading and comfy chairs go way back. I still enjoy Asterix and many other graphic novels. My main reason for blogging is for reviewing books for the students and anyone else that might be interested in YA literature.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Summer Reading - Graphic novels

Lost Trail : Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness by Donn Fendler ; illustrated by Ben Bishop

Based on the true story Lost Trail is a boldly illustrated graphic novel that tells the story of Donn Fendler, a twelve-year-old Boy Scout from New York, who climbs Maine's mile-high Mount Katahdin and in a sudden storm is separated from his friends and family.
What follows is a nine-day adventure in which Donn, lost and alone in the Maine wilderness, struggles for survival.
What I liked: I liked how Donn relied and remembered his training from Boy Scouts about what to do when your lost (sometimes he ignored this and therefore made things more difficult for searchers.) Stay with the group. Don't panic. Follow a stream. and others. I thought the black & white illustrations were very atmospheric and gave a good sense of how Donn was feeling emotionally. I also really liked that the story was made into chapters with breaks that were made from Newspaper articles.
What I didn't like: Although Donn had a strong faith in God, I don't know if that it should have overshadowed his survival the way that it did.

Fans of the Hatchet series might want to check this one out, or you might want to read the original book recounting the story : Lost on a Mountain in Maine by Donn Fendler. There is even talk of making it into a movie. Here's a promo for it.

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