"a sure winner for mid-level readers." — Winnipeg Free Press"The author's extensive background research is evident ... readers will come away better informed about environmental concerns." — Kirkus ReviewsHudson Greer and his caving partner, Jett, are determined to become teen legends who discover a long-sought passageway that connects two giant cave systems in their little mountain town. But they're haunted by the history of a giant sinkhole that opened up and swallowed the town's fully-packed church, steeple and all. Dozens were killed, including Hudson' s grandfather. Hudson knows it's in danger of happening again; he just doesn't know when or where. Can his caving instincts and science knowledge predict or prevent the next disaster? Are the shoddy logging practices of the town's main employer tempting fate? And who's on whose side when business and political shenanigans mix with evaded environmental codes?Nothing less than the...

Ray will need every ounce of his drone skills and outdoor smarts to recover his missing bear cub before poachers get to it first.When his orphan bear cub goes missing, sixteen-year-old drone enthusiast Ray McLellan decides to use his airborne spying skills to find it. Little does he know that a bear-poaching gang operating in the surrounding forest has drones too — and a cold welcome for those who would attempt to take them down.As a New York City kid recently forced to move to the Great Bear Rainforest by his parents, what Ray doesn't have is a lifetime of outdoor instincts, or familiarity with the valley and its wildlife. That makes him very different from his grumpy grandfather, who — like his new school friends — berate his city-kid uselessness at every opportunity. Can Ray use his drones and drone smarts to prove himself, find his cub, and expose what's going on in the woods?

Will their wilderness skills be enough to survive the dangerous Rocky Mountains?First a Canadian Rockies avalanche kills their parents. Then Children's Services threatens to separate them. That's when the three Gunnarsson kids decide to run away into the mountains and fend for themselves until the oldest turns eighteen and becomes their legal guardian. Not many would dare. But Jon, Korka, and Aron's parents ran a survival school.Turns out their plan is full of holes. When food and equipment go missing and illness and injury strike, things get scary. They're even less prepared for encounters with dangerous animals and a sketchy woods dweller. On top of that, grief, cold, hunger, and sibling infighting threaten to tear them apart, while the search parties are closing in on them. Do Jon, Korka, and Aron really have what it takes to survive?

Montana-born Rex loves nothing more than to take his kayak out on a river, the faster and more powerful the better. When he gets the opportunity to tackle the well-named El Furioso in southwest Colombia, he is thrilled. He anticipates the river's challenges, but finds himself in a situation where the real danger is human. In Colombia, he meets Myriam Calambás, an indígena, who has lived along the El Furioso all her life. Though she loves its rushing waters, she dreams of leaving to get an education so that she can help her people. Her dreams, and her very survival, are in the balance when she and Rex are caught up in the clash between paramilitaries, working for rich landowners, and guerillas, who are supposed to be protecting the poor.Pam Withers' skill at writing about extreme adventures combines with a compelling story about an endangered world and a people struggling for their very right to exist.

When Tristan’s dad disappears, he puts his tracking skills to the test to find him — but will Tristan’s talents save him if it turns out to be a trap? Thanks to his dad’s coaching, sixteen-year-old Tristan is one of the best climbers and trackers in his community. He can read footprints and bushes like they’re security-camera footage, and fearlessly descend rock faces and waterfalls. So when his father disappears, leaving his mother too grief-stricken to function, the young canyoneer’s life goes into freefall. Left in the hands of a well-meaning but incompetent uncle and a space-cadet housekeeper, Tristan finds life a struggle no matter how hard he works. Finding himself near the end of his rope at home, the teen decides to set off into Swallow Canyon in search of his father — only to realize that someone seems to be out to get him. Now the question is who’s stalking whom, and are Tristan’s skills up to the dangerous game playing out in the deep, shadowy ravine?

Thirteen-year-old Chris and his family are setting up a bungee jump in his backyard. It's a real large-scale bungee jump off a bridge that connects his backyard to a small island owned by his family. Not only is it going to be the coolest attraction around, but it also provides Chris with an opportunity to watch a real engineer in action. Chris would be excited about it if things didn't keep going wrong. The rumors of hauntings on the island, once the site of a hospital for children with leprosy, are getting out of control. And there are mysterious mishaps on the bridge. Chris worries that all of these problems will keep customers away. And if the bungee jump isn't a success, his family will lose everything.

Wilf is convinced his parents want nothing to do with him. When he isn't in school, he is left to his own devices or shipped away to camp. But at fifteen, Wilf is adamant that he is too old for summer camp. When his parents ignore his protests and ship him off anyway, he knows how he will get their attention: He will escape from camp by canoe and spend the rest of his vacation alone in the woods, proving to his parents he deserves his independence. His plan begins to unravel when his cabin mate forces Wilf to take him along. Things go from bad to worse when a younger camper follows them and they all end up in a fight for their lives against the unforgiving river.

Owen's plan to sail away on an adventure puts him on a collision course with some very dangerous people. When Owen's parents leave him on his own for a week, the sixteen-year-old gets bored and hatches a crazy idea: sneak onto the yacht that's visiting the sleepy Pacific Coast island where he lives and stow away on an adventure! Once on board the vessel, Owen quickly finds out this is anything but innocent fun. The ship is packed with teenagers from Central America, and it looks like Owen has stumbled into a people-smuggling operation. Complications pile up and as things head from bad to worse, a haunting incident from Owen's past tightens its grip on him. There's only one way to break free and make his way home. Owen and the first mate, Arturo — a former street kid — must work together to commandeer the boat and win the trust of those on board. But who's friend and who's foe in the shifting tides?