The Explorer book review

The Explorer by Katherine Rundell
on September 12, 2017
Pages: 336
Goodreads

Fred, Con, Lila, and Max are on their way back to England from Manaus when the plane they’re on crashes and the pilot dies upon landing. For days they survive alone, until Fred finds a map that leads them to a ruined city, and to a secret.

I have definitely been on a children’s fiction kick the last couple of weeks and The Explorer was one of my favourites. It had a wonderful set of characters that kept you entertained all the way through, they were all interesting and considering there was only 5 people in this book from start to finish I think that isn’t a mean feat. I loved the writing style all the way through this, it had the feeling of the old classics whilst also having an easier sense of reading about it. I know it was for children but I absolutely flew through this book, it really kept my attention and I loved learning about what the kids learnt about. All in all this is probably one of my favourite children’s books that I have read in a little while.

The Explorer focuses on four children who have been stranded in the Amazon rainforest when their plane crashes. I think that is what surprised me the most about this book, the fact that I was so invested in the story and the children and there was nothing else going on. The children held the story together in such a way that it was impressive. They were all very distinctive characters with well-written personalities and backstories and I loved learning about each of them in their own separate space whilst also learning to survive with each other.

I personally think the best bit of this book would have to be watching the kids grow not only in confidence but also in knowledge. I loved seeing them work things out for themselves but also learn from others when appropriate. The Explorer as a book has a really nice mixture of both childish glee but also really dire consequences. This book doesn’t try to hide the fact that they are in a dangerous situation and highlights the trauma that they are experiencing and have survived.

I don’t know whether this could really class as the worst bit because it has more to do with me than the actual book. I just think that as a reader that it all came off as a little unrealistic, but as I said I think that has to do with me being an older reader reading it as opposed to a young child.

I would recommend The Explorer, it’s definitely an easy read but then it deals with a traumatic situation quite well. I enjoyed learning about the characters and the writing was phenomenally done. I might even have to pick up some more of her books!

What do you read when you want a light read? Let me know in the comments!