I found this book on NetGalley and thought the front cover was appealing so gave it a go. It’s a young readers’ book about the hazards one might encounter if lost in a national park desert, plus tips and talking points. I can imagine kids who like to explore would love the adventure. I think the illustrations are wonderful!

This is a short chapter book about a 12 year old girl and her dog who get lost in the desert. Wendy uses her intelligence and things she’s read to help them both survive scorpions, rattlesnakes, thirst, heat, cold and even a coyote until rescuers can find them. I’m not sure why the kids have names from the 1970s like Wendy and Joanne, but the book does have a somewhat dated feel. There are scary situations but no violence or sad endings (other than for a kangaroo rat who is killed by a rattlesnake). The end has information about what to do if you get lost, discussions, etc.

There are some black and white illustrations, about one per chapter. The price seems quite high for a black and white paperback— $28 — so I would recommend it as a library read or for a classroom where it will get multiple reads over time.

I read a temporary digital loan of this book for review.

Thank you so much to Capstone / Stone Arch Books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Wendy is on a hike with her sister Joanne and Joanne’s best friend Sonia. They aren’t getting on, no one cares what Wendy knows about the desert, all the facts and about the beautiful things they see. They get separated on the hike and Wendy loses Marshmallow their dog as she goes after him, they become lost on their own.

This was such an interesting book, I really got into it when she was lost, reading about how Wendy used all the knowledge that she had to survive. Her dog was so clever and he knew so many things, he was also able to help keep her safe. It was so scary with the situation they were in, with no food or water, no way of knowing exactly where they were or how to get help.

I wasn’t sure what the outcome was going to be with this story at all, each time they came across a deadly animal, or each time it turned to a new night and they still hadn’t gotten any further to find a way out. It was so scary and intense the whole time. I loved how smart Wendy was though, she seriously knew so much about the desert, from what plants were edible, to how to find mud water, I was so impressed with all her knowledge and how she was able to use that to her advantage to survive little by little.

A really great thrilling read, a wonderful read for anyone that likes survival stories or nature as that’s the premise of this story. I really enjoyed it, and I also liked the illustrations we had, it helped heighten the scary situation she was stuck in, seeing her face to face with the scary animals, being stuck where she couldn’t get out.

I loved this book. It depicted a strong , resourceful and creative fmc. The story moves along at a good pace. All the facts about survival were very fun to read. I believe this is a good book for young adults!

This is one of those books, when you re reading it you either say to yourself, “wow, I didn’t know that,” or you say “Yes, I knew that.” This is not preachy about how the author gives us facts about survival. If anything, it just gives you a good adventure story, where the main character, Wendy, mostly gets everything close to being right.


For example, she figures out that if animals are digging for water, that she could do the same. The realizes that she shouldn’t sleep out in the open, and she remembers that she shouldn’t move to much when you are lost and waiting to be found, because it makes it harder to be found.


In fact, at the end of the book, the author goes over the things that it is important to know should you end up lost in the desert. Such as driving the juice of the prickly pear cactus. And staying away from scorpions and rattle snakes.


Nicely done. Makes for a good adventure series, and apparently there are other places that you can learn about survival, such as being at sea, or in a swamp.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. THis boo will be published the 1st of January 2025.

Lost adventure book. Cute, good pace throughout. I love Marshmallow and marshie definitely stoll the book. I enjoyed the art, i am guessing in the pub copy the artwork will be in colour which i think will bring even more enjoyment for the reader

Super cute! Would’ve loved this when I was in 1st or 2nd grade. I’m down to read any book with a Westie in it, and Marshmallow fit the deal!

Twelve year old Wendy is on a hike in Joshua Tree National Park along with her dog Marshmallow and older sister Joanne. Joanne's friend is also with them. Wendy wants to take her time and enjoy talking about the facts she learned in the guidebook. Her sister doesn't have patience for that so Wendy lags behind. When Marshmallow runs off after a critter Wendy goes after him and ends up left behind. Stranded in the desert Wendy and Marshmallow must survive until they can be rescued.

The story starts off in the middle of the hike. Wendy is immediately likeable as she shows enthusiasm for the desert. It's easy to relate to her as no one, except for Marshmallow, wants to listen to her. Soon enough she is lost and the adventure begins.

Wendy is smart, resourceful, and creative. The facts about the desert and survival are fun. The story moves along at a good pace. Some harrowing situations come up and it gets a little dicey near the end. There is nothing too upsetting for young readers though.

This is a fun book for readers who love nature, survival stories, and dogs. There are going to be other books in the series that should also be interesting.

If you, like me, have ever enjoyed adventure stories about braving the wild and surviving in deserts from late 19th and early 20th century, you might have wished to share the excitement of that reading experience with some other middle-grade readers in your care... but, you know, without all those underlying settler-colonialism vibes, racial prejudice, nature exploitation and skewed gender representation those classics can also boast. If so, Ailynn Collins has something exactly for you!

Wendy is a 12-year-old who went of a hike with her dog, an older sister and a friend of her sister's in Joshua Tree NP. But the older girls considered Wendy a nuisance, so they didn't care to make sure she doesn't stay behind. So when the dog, Marshmallow, ran after some desert creature, and Wendy followed him off the trail, nobody noticed their absence soon enough, and the girl and the dog were lost. In the following days, they would have to survive the scorching heat of the days and the shivering cold of the nights, find water, and confront dangerous animals. And make sure they are findable in the vast wilderness of the national park's desert, of course.

I really liked this story, even though I am way past the middle-grade age category. It is, indeed, all the good stuff from those adventure classics but without all the dated stuff that reads problematic nowadays. I also liked the pacing of the story and the balance between introspection into the character's perception of the world and pure depicting of the actions and events. For instance, obviously, there needed to be just any explanation to set off the adventure (i.e. any reason why the girl and the dog would end up alone in the wilderness) but the way the interaction between the sisters was sketched out on just a few opening pages makes it really believable that they ended up like that.

Good news: more books in this series are announced, exploring other iconic adventure settings.

I am grateful to Stone Arch Books for providing me with a free eARC through Netgalley; the opinion above is fully my own.

This was a strong start to the Wilderness Survival series, I really enjoyed the element of survival and how the character worked with that element. It was tense and worked in this plot overall. Ailynn Collins has a great writing style and left me wanting to read more in this series.