by Jessica KhouryRated PG-13
Everything was all planned. The five teens would arrive on their educational trip to the Kalahari, and Sarah and her dad would teach them about living the way of the bushman. But when Sarah's dad goes missing and the campsite is deliberately burned to the ground, Sarah and the other teenagers are left to find their way across the Kalahari wilderness using whatever survival skills they have.
As if that's not enough, a group of mercenaries is after them as they make their way across the desert (semi-desert, the know-it-all Avani would correct me). Every time they get close to safety, another disaster strikes.
As Sarah learns the truth about what is really happening to them, and how her mom really died, her hope for survival dims, and she must call upon all her strength to lead her little group to safety.
Full of action and some science-fiction thrown in, this is a great book for teens who like a fast paced story.
Naturally, there are some love interests woven throughout (it wouldn't be a group of teens without that, I guess!). However, the author has chosen not to take that too far, which I applaud. I got nervous at one point when a kiss is described with some detail, but it never went beyond the one kiss.
The PG-13 rating is for some violence, a somewhat grotesque disease and, you know, the kiss.
