Lost in the River of Grass, the story of a two teenagers lost in the Everglades, is an absolute nail-biting, breath holding page-turner.

Written by a native Floridian, Ginny Rorby, this young adult novel appears on the Truman Award final nominee list for 2013-14.

The adventure story of how a local boy, and an urban girl ostracized by her field-trip classmates, survive four days in the Everglades with nothing but a knife, a can of Spam, and half a bottle of Gatorade, while wading neck high in swamp water and fending off alligators, wild boars, fire ants, cottonmouth, water moccasin and rattlesnakes, will keep the reader’s heart racing. An excerpt from chapter 13 provides a example of the suspense:

I raise my head to look at the gator, estimating the distance between us to be only about ten yards. It has closed its eyes, but there is something else moving through the grasses near the trail…Whatever it is slides slowly beneath the flattened grasses…”There’s another, Andy!” I grab his arm. My cry startles the gator, but it’s too late. Like a flash of lightning, a giant snake strikes the side of the gator’s face. “Holy Christ.” Andy jumps up and jerks me to my feet. I bite my fist to keep from screaming. Blood whooshes in my ears. Minutes ago, Andy and I walked right past that snake.

Issues of class, bullying, and race make this more than just an adventure story. However, this book is so suspenseful that the reader will be tempted to read the entire 255 pages in one sitting to discover whether the teens (and the orphaned ducking the girl rescues) will make it out unscathed.