I've always been a fan of survival titles. This one did not disappoint.

I really enjoyed our main character and following that journey. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Would read again.

The Wild Lands is one of those stories that you cannot put down. It is a story of survival in a post-apocalyptic world that is destroyed by natural disasters and corrupt human nature. It is raw, violent, and not-so-unbelievable, sadly. This would be a great book for upper classmen in high school. I would love to teach this book to my seniors since it does discuss climate change, the brutality (and compassion) of human nature, and survivorship.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group or this eARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Seventeen-year-old Travis and his ten-year-old sister live in an Alaska that has been changed by man, earthquake, and fire. The US government has abandoned its people since the removal of the natural resources that once made The Last Frontier so valuable to the Lower 48. Sure, they sent buses and then ships to evacuate the population of major cities, including where the siblings live in Fairbanks, but their father thought it best for the family to stand on its own. And that worked for awhile, but now the food is running out. A plan to retrace the evacuation route to the north ends at the Yukon River when Travis and Jess lose their parents. They now need to find their way to food and some form of healthy and productive civilization.

Any book of this nature is going to be immediately compared to Lord of the Flies. Greci's premise quickly shifts from survival to group dynamics and back again throughout the narrative. Travis and Jess are tested by the desolate and ruined land; they find hope and friendship in a group of fellow teenage wanderers, but they also find much conflict. Their journey takes them through challenges physical, mental, and moral. The comparison to Golding's classic holds for the elements of survival and some group dynamics, but Greci's book takes a step further in regards to climate change and gender.

Greci has developed a world that is altogether too real and possible. Consider a near future without all the modern conveniences, basically, a return to 'basic.' The reader will question the character's motivations and the paranoias simply because of how foreign this near-future world seems to be, yet Greci does a great job answering the questions he continually poses about food, water, and shelter.

Though realistic and very much true to the geography of the land, the narrative does get a bit too focused on the physical challenges such as river crossing at times. I was also happy that the male ego collisions were balanced with some strong female characters.

If you're looking for a good YA survival book that takes a group of teens through a man-made Alaskan disaster, The Wild Lands is for you.

I received this e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story takes place in the not so distant future when climate change and loss of resources has decimated Alaska to the point where it is no longer a state. Most of the glaciers have melted, earthquakes have wrecked the coastline and interior, fires have destroyed much of what was left, and the annual salmon runs have ceased. Travis (17), Jess (10), and their parents tried to stick it out when most everyone else was evacuated. When Travis's father finally realizes that they cannot survive in what was Fairbanks any longer, the family heads north, hoping to board a ship that will take them across the Arctic Ocean to Maine. Because of the lack of resources, lack of food, and all out lawlessness, Travis and Jess's parents are killed. Following their instructions, the siblings head south. They meet up with some teenage girls to travel with -- safety in numbers. They must always be alert for danger, try to ration their meager provisions, and try to make it to the southern coast.

Travis narrates this YA dystopian novel, describing the emotional toll the travel takes on him and his traveling companions. There are several plot twists, some predictable, some not. The book is mostly fast paced and will appeal to boys as well as girls. This is definitely a Young Adult book due to some of the content so I would recommend it for 8th grade and up.

I can see this book being especially appealing to a male audience. That's not to say females won't enjoy it but as a librarian I think I could hand this one to some reluctant readers looking for a gritty, action packed story without a big romance element. This is a strong post-disaster survival book , but with a lot of violence this would be best for high school age students.