Middle grade realistic fiction is one of my favorite genres. Having authors help young readers understand their community and how they can help the world is powerful. This novel has a MC that loves animals and her gran rescues wildlife. But gran is no longer with her as she finds herself rescuing and keeping secret some beaver kits. This is a great friendship story and entry to learning about environmental concerns. Hand this to youngsters 8+. Thank you to Houghton Mifflin and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet middle grade story about a young girl and her friends summer adventure with wildlife. Madison wants to be just like Jane Goodall, but for all animals. She learned from her Nana, who was a wildlife rehabiliter, before she passed away. Madison and her friends Jack and Aaron discovered dead beavers and hearing the kits nearby knew they had to rescue them, but Madison is also supposed to stop bring stray animals home as she has caused some chaos at home. In a happy ending sort of way, everything works out and Madison is well on her way to being the animal whisperer she dreams of becoming. A quick read, full of silly animals, and a good lesson on the importance of family.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

As a child who was very much into the Lucy Daniels animal ark series, I feel that this is the updated, gen z version. Its such a lovely story aimed at young people who are interested in conservation and animal adventures!

This book was cute and interesting. Its not often you read a book for this age group about conservation with a young person who knows what they are doing. I will be interested to see what comes from Johnson next.

This is a young middle grade book. I request this book because my daughter loves rescuing animals, and I felt she may love this book. After, I have read this book I know she is going to love this book. This book is all about a little girl that loves to help animals, and she rescues orphaned beaver kits. I love how many facts about beavers where worked into this book. The characters where fun to follow, and the beaver kits also where like characters. I think this book is written so young middle grade readers will be able to read this book without problems. I really enjoyed this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (HMH Books for Young Readers) or author (Terry Lynn Johnson) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

*forgot to download so ended up buying it and didn't regret it!

It's such a sweet and innocent story. The main character was really strong and I adored her evolution through the story. She had something unique but yet recognizable. The ending was sweet, but I felt like it could have been stronger.

I read this one with my daughter and we both really enjoyed it. Lots of fun and adventure. Perfect for young children.

This book is everything the summary promises and more. I read it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. It was so interesting learning about beavers and conservation, but also watching Madi and her friends figure out the solution to a problem that adults automatically went to the extreme about.

Kids are going to love Madi and her friends. Their banter is so funny yet right on point for their age. I also love seeing how close they are even as they grow up and change.

In addition to the main story about the beaver rescue, Madi’s family situation will bring about good conversation about different types of families.

But truly, the real stars of this book are the beavers. I never knew as much about them as I do now, and they are such interesting animals. This book definitely led to inquiry as I wanted to learn so much more about environmental conservation and beavers.

Twelve-year-old Madi Lewis is known for rescuing animals. She’s banned from bringing any more home. When her and her friends Jack and Aaron find a mother beaver who was killed, Madi insists on finding her babies and saving them. Madi brings the two baby beavers home and hides them from her family. Madi and her friends look after the baby beavers while also searching for the person who shot the babies’ mother.

This is a great story to introduce children to looking after wildlife. Madi had some experience with helping her grandmother rescue wildlife, so she knew what to do with the baby beavers. She had to use her own knowledge to look after them, including mimicking what their mother would do to keep them warm and make them food. Interacting with wildlife can also be dangerous, so she had to be cautious while handling the babies.

This story reminded me of the Animal Ark series that I read when I was a kid. Those books were about kids rescuing and helping animals. These stories about kids helping animals can get them interested in going outside and learning about nature.

Rescue at Lake Wild is a great middle grade story!

Thank you HMH Books for Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rescue at Lake Wild was one of those books where you were cringing and cheering the main character on throughout the book! Madi is so passionate about animals, something I think many kids will understand. So much so that she is willing to risk meeting Jane Goodall to help orphaned beaver kits. Madi and her friends have big challenges to tackle, including the mindset of their community about the beavers. This book will be a great addition to my library! E ARC provided by Houghton Mifflin and #netgalley.

Animal-loving kids will adore this story about Madi and her many pets, rescues, and animal projects. Her environmentalism and love of animals are contagious.

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book. This is the first book that i have read by this author and it definitely will not be the last. Overall i enjoyed it, i liked the characters and it was a good plot. This book follows Madi and her two best friends, Madi is used to rescuing animals and when her and her friends find two beaver kits they decide to rescue and look after them whilst figuring out who is hurting the beavers. An enjoyable read.

Oh I really enjoyed this one. Girls coming together to do big things! An excellent addition to any middle grade library! And I love the cover art a lot.

My first thoughts regarding this book are all about consequences. Madi is forbidden from bringing home strays but she does it anyway. While her intentions are good, there are consequences without compromise. She doesn't get a work around that allows her to go to the gala. And there are good reasons for her parent's rules. Her actions put herself, her friends, and the beavers in danger. It's important that reader don't see her rescues as something to imitate. It's also important that the plot finds a balance between protecting the animals and the need for the farmers to protect their property. We are show the devastation to crops, the dangers in the roadways. The solutions involve compromise and thinking through solutions rather than a gut reaction. While not without it's problems, this is a solid read for a kid with an ecological mindset.

I love this author, and I'll read anything that she writes. This story is a lower MG read about three friends who find some orphaned beaver kits, and are determined to not only protect them, but figure out who is killing the beavers in their areas.

There are several things about this book that I think will make it a hit with young readers. The cover art by Maike Plenzke is colorful, kid-friendly, and very appealing. The length at just over 200 pages will tempt many readers who pass on longer reads. The main character, Madi, is passionate about saving wildlife and following in her grandmother's footsteps to care for injured animals. There is so much fascinating information about beavers (I had no idea they were so smart and capable of problem solving) without feeling overdone or too factual. Madi's friends, Aaron and Jack (and Jack's dog, Lid) are part of the plan to hide the kits so Madi's mom doesn't find out, but the adventures that they get into together are funny and typical middle grade behavior. I really appreciated the resolution of the story, and would love to read another story about one of Madi's animal rescues.

This would be a great classroom read aloud, with an opportunity to talk about animal conservation and poaching, and our role to play in it.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Rescue at Lake Wild is the first book by Terry Lynn Johnson that I've read but won't be the last!
In this book we meet Madi (Madison), who is an animal whisperer. She is following in her Nanas footsteps of caring for and rescuing animals with her unique abilities. Her Nana was the towns animal rehabilitation specialist and Madi aspires to be just like her. Her family are fed up of her bringing home waifs and strays and have told her that if she brings home another animal she can't go to meet her idol and inspiration Dr Jane Goodall.
Madi and her friends then find and rescue orphaned Beaver kits and there comes a dilemma as to what to do with them.
This is an adorable animal adventure book for any animal lovers and I will be getting a paperback copy as soon as I can!

Rescue at Wild Lake focuses on the adventures of twelve-year-old Madison and her two best friends, Aaron and Jack. Madison is an animal lover with a history of bringing home animals in need of help. She has learned this from her late grandmother who was a skilled wildlife rehabilitator. Her parents have warned her not to bring home any more animals to rescue, but when Madison and her friends find two beaver kits whose mother has been killed, she decides to rescue the kits anyway. As they work to take care of the baby beavers, Madison and her friends also try to figure out who in the community is targeting the beavers and stop them from hurting any more. This book is a great summer read for animal and nature lovers. Lots of information about beavers and animal rescue is woven into the text, but in a natural way that is supportive of the story. The dynamics between the three friends are great, too. The theme of protecting wildlife is presented in an accessible way and interest readers in learning more. I could definitely see this being the first installment in a series about the adventures of Madison and her friends…

I thought this book was just okay. I thought the plot was cute but the characters were a bit, I hate to say, annoying. It could just be that this is not my age range and younger kids may enjoy them but for me it was just a so so book.

This is a great middle grade book for any 3 - 6/7 grader but especially for animal loving or environmentally conscious kids. Johnson is great at writing books with independent kids living in wild or semi-wild places and their relationship to animals.