Wildfire Run

by Dee Garretson

Overview

The president's retreat, Camp David, is one of the safest places in the United States. So why can't the President's son, Luke, and his friends Theo and Callie stay there without Secret Service agents constantly hovering over them, watching their every move? And yet, when an earthquake sets off a raging wildfire, causing a chain reaction that wreaks havoc at Camp David, they are suddenly on their own.

Now Luke needs a plan:

• To override the security systems
• To save those who were supposed to save him
• To get through an impassable gate
• To escape Camp David

Debut author Dee Garretson delivers a heart-pounding tween thriller—an action-packed adventure with undeniable suspense.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062009616
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/17/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	276
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
File size:	373 KB
Age Range:	1 - 12 Years

About the Author

Dee Garretson spent her childhood helping her father build his offbeat inventions and playing adventure games in the woods. After working as a landscape designer and teaching landscape horticulture classes for several years, Dee returned to writing. Her debut novel, Wildfire Run, has been praised for its suspense and its hero, Luke, who “with his companions, displays generous measures of courage and ingenuity in rising to the occasion” (ALA Booklist). She lives with her family in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3–7—Luke, son of the president, worries deeply about terrorists and crazy people. While he is on vacation at Camp David with best friend and fellow robotics nut Theo, he feels safer than he has in a long time. Just after Callie, the assistant chef's daughter and Luke's longtime enemy, arrives, a disastrous earthquake strikes. When a wildfire surrounds the camp, injuring and possibly killing several adults during evacuation, Luke and his friends are left on their own and must use their wits to overcome nature's worst. Kids will enjoy the adventure and realistic characters. Luke and friends may be part of the country's elite, but they bicker and problem-solve just like regular kids. As Luke develops into a more confident boy, readers will cheer for his progress. Most interesting are the contraptions and gadgets built by the children in order to overcome obstacles and up their chances of survival. Recommend this to fans of T. S. Fields's Danger in the Desert (Rising Moon, 1997) and Gary Paulsen's Hatchet (Bradbury, 1987). An accessible story with lots of action.—Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix Public Library, AZ

School Library Journal

A breakneck adventure in the unusual setting of Camp David features the president's son Luke and his two pals, Theo and Callie. Theo is a geeky guy who likes to build robots and is new to the Secret Service protocols that are normal for Luke. Callie is the daughter of a chef who's worked at another presidential home and is not particularly happy about his being transferred to Camp David. When a horrid and utterly unbelievable set of coincidences finds them trapped on the compound without any adult help, they must outwit the many security measures in place to thwart criminals and terrorists that now keep these kids from escaping a wildfire resulting from carelessness in the aftermath of a major earthquake. It's all plot, and unlikely at that, but it's fairly tightly written to focus on the spontaneous inventions and ingenuity that are required of these uncannily capable 12-year-olds. Mostly harmless MacGyver-esque foolishness, this gadget-filled thriller is expressly calculated to hit the sweet spot for middle-grade readers who like their survival literature laced with technology. (Adventure. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews