Jungle Crossing

Jungle Crossing by Sydney Salter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This enjoyable middle school read is by the author Sydney Salter, a local author.  We were fortunate enough to have Sydney come to our school to speak to our 8th grade students about being an author and writing.  She told the students that many of the books she writes are based on her journals from when she was a teenager.  This particular story is inspired by a trip she had to the Mayan ruins when she was a child.  Kat, the girl in the story, is thirteen when she goes to Mexico with her family.  Of course, she doesn't want to spend time with her family when she could be at her friend, Fiona's, mini-camp, but she is not given a choice.  During the trip she meets Nando, the young tour bus driver, who tells Kat and her sister a story within this story of a girl from Mayan royalty who is kidnapped from her people.  Kat learns some important lessons not only from her own experiences in Mexico, but from the experiences of Muluc as she struggles to find her way back to her home.  It's nice to have a book with a positive message to recommend.



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