Kalahari

Source: Penguin's First to Read Program

POV: First-Person through the main character, Sarah

Characters: I was not at all satisfied with these characters. I feel like Sarah, the main character, is the only one who has any dimension at all. The others all fell really flat. Sam, the love interest, Avani

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the smart one, Joey the comedian, Kase and Miranda the couple. We learn very, very little about these characters and what we do learn doesn't really add anything to the story. Sarah, on the other hand, was definitely fleshed out a little more. Dealing with the death of her mother and then worrying for her father while trying to keep the city kids alive. She's not my favorite female character ever but is an improvement on the rest of the cast.

Romance: There is some very tame romance between Sarah and Sam. It develops naturally throughout their journey and feels authentic.
Insta-Love: No Love Triangle: No

Plot & Pacing: I had so many problems with the plot of this book. From the very beginning I kept saying, "What?" and "No way that would happen!" Yes, yes, I realize that this is fiction and sometimes it is required that the reader suspend their belief for a little while. In this case, though, the whole premise was just not something I thought would ever really happen in any reality. Sarah lives in a camp (meaning tents, not a lodge) with her father and family friend, Theo, doing research in the Kalahari. Five teenagers come to stay with them as part of a conservation exchange program. Immediately after their arrival, Sarah's Dad decides to take Theo with him and leave to chase after some poachers. Seriously? What kind of adult leaves their daughter and five city kids alone to fend for themselves in the middle of the desert (semi-desert) with absolutely no protection? No vehicle, no phone, no way of contacting anyone else, the next town 100 miles away. They are completely stranded in every way. He even takes their supply of food with him because it was never off-loaded from their truck before he takes off!

When Sarah's dad does not return in a timely manner, they all decide to go looking for him. The rest of the book is basically Sarah trying to lead this group through the Kalahari without anyone getting seriously injured or killed. Along the way they stumble onto this hidden research camp and see some things they were never meant to see. Without giving anything away, I'll just say that despite the descriptions and explanations, the "virus" makes absolutely no sense to me. Maybe that's just me. I don't know. But it didn't ring true and made me roll my eyes more than once.

The pacing was good and was the reason I continued to read even while I was rolling my eyes. Things move very quickly and there's always something happening. The book is action packed and I think that will really appeal to a lot of readers.

Setting: The author's research about and descriptions of the Kalahari are the only reasons I gave this book 2 stars instead of just one. She does a fantastic job of making the reader feel like they're right there with the group. Descriptions of desert life, the animals, the plants, the food sources, the open sky are vivid and really evoke the feeling of being there in the desert.

Cliffhanger: No

Overall: I was really disappointed with this book. There were a lot of plot holes and things that just didn't sit well with me. The setting and pacing were good, though. Many readers will love Sarah and will love the fast-paced action. It wasn't for me but the adventure here will be appreciated by others.

Also, I will note that although this is the third book in a series, it can be read as a standalone. It is not necessary to read this series in order.

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Picked this up because I like the author's other two books; Vitro and Origin. This one was just as good as the others. Sarah and her biologist father make ends meet by agreeing to play tour guide to four teens who come to the desert. Shortly after the city kids arrive, Sarah's father and his right

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hand man leave camp to track some poachers. Sarah's dad doesn't come back as quickly as he should and Sarah is convinced something has happened to him so she convinces the other four teens to come with her to look for him. Along the way to finding her dad, she sees some things that don't make any sense, and when she investigates further, she comes across a complex housing a lab, and some very strange things.

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Picked this up because I like the author's other two books; Vitro and Origin. This one was just as good as the others. Sarah and her biologist father make ends meet by agreeing to play tour guide to four teens who come to the desert. Shortly after the city kids arrive, Sarah's father and his right

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hand man leave camp to track some poachers. Sarah's dad doesn't come back as quickly as he should and Sarah is convinced something has happened to him so she convinces the other four teens to come with her to look for him. Along the way to finding her dad, she sees some things that don't make any sense, and when she investigates further, she comes across a complex housing a lab, and some very strange things.

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This YA novel delivers lots of edge-of-your-seat action and adventure with a touch of sci-fi.

Six teenagers fight for their lives in the unforgiving Kalahari desert. Sarah's father disappears while intercepting some lion poachers; leaving the teens to defend themselves against ferocious African

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wildlife as they search for him. When the kids happen upon a strange laboratory compound, things turn gruesome. The lab animals and research scientists have some sort of metallic flesh eating disease. Turns out the poachers are actually a team of killers sent to contain the outbreak and silence all witness by any means necessary.

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I didn't realize this is a series! I can't properly review until I've read the first 2! It's a nail biter though with periods of genuine fright.

Deep in the Kalahari Desert, a Corpus lab protects a dangerous secret…
But what happens when that secret takes on a life of its own?

When an educational safari goes wrong, five teens find themselves stranded in the Kalahari Desert without a guide. It’s up to Sarah, the daughter of zoologists, to

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keep them alive and lead them to safety, calling on survival know-how from years of growing up in remote and exotic locales. Battling dehydration, starvation and the pangs of first love, she does her best to hold it together, even as their circumstances grow increasingly desperate.

But soon a terrifying encounter makes Sarah question everything she’s ever known about the natural world. A silver lion, as though made of mercury, makes a vicious, unprovoked attack on the group. After a narrow escape, they uncover the chilling truth behind the lion’s silver sheen: a highly contagious and deadly virus that threatens to ravage the entire area—and eliminate life as they know it.

In this breathtaking new novel by the acclaimed author of Origin and Vitro, Sarah and the others must not only outrun the virus, but its creators, who will stop at nothing to wipe every trace of it.

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It sounds so simple—five teens go on an educational safari in the Kalahari Desert with fellow teen Sarah as one of their guides. Things go terribly wrong, however, when Sarah’s father is hunted by poachers. The group of teens must trek across the desert in hopes of finding assistance—but yet

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again, trouble strikes, this time in the form of a bonafide silver lion. When the group discovers the nefarious truth behind the silver lion, they become prime targets for an evil corporation bent on keeping it a secret. Full of twists and turns, and scientifically interesting, KALAHARI is a fast-paced action-adventure that both boys and girls will love.

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You will think this novel is realistic, suspense fiction, but it’s really science fiction suspense!

Sarah has been raised in various parts of the world as her parents are scientists. They live out in the wilds, so Sarah has more friends who are animals than people. Because they need more funding,

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her family agree to sponsor a group of teens who are to see what life is like in the semi-desert in Africa-- the Kalahari. They are supposed to observe conservation of resources and how animals live in the wild. The problem is there are poachers in the area, so Sarah’s dad leaves to find their location in order to report it to the authorities. When he doesn’t return when he’s supposed to, Sarah is terrified that her dad is dead. Just four months previously, Sarah’s mom didn’t return for four days. When they went to look for her, they found her dead. Sarah is obviously scared the same thing will happen.

There are five teens who arrive. Few really want to be there, especially when they learn what the conditions are like--no electricity or wi-fi. There are zero neighbors and help is practically non-existent. They have a radio, but it connects to one person who is often gone for days. When dad takes their one vehicle and the satellite phone, the teens are in trouble. Therefore, the five teens and Sarah are on their own to get out of the semi-desert to get help. Little do they know that there’s more going on in the Kalahari than Sarah’s family ever knew. Survival will be harder than Sarah predicted. In this journey to survive, Sarah learns about friendship and even love.

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, but I like suspense novels. What’s interesting is that it’s book three. The series is called Corpus; in each novel, a teen lives with scientist parents in remote locations. I have ordered them so that we can read them! Hopefully, they are each as interesting. I’ve read Forbidden Wish, which is also by Ms. Khoury and loved it, but it was completely different; it was fantasy.

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Boy, this adventure grabs you with its teeth and won't let go. It's an intense, fast-paced survivalist adventure with a twist I didn't see coming and some wild action scenes. Sarah, the survivor of her mother's death, becomes Sarah who keeps everyone alive and might, through that action, save

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herself.

I had no idea that there were previous companion novels -- this one stands strongly on it's own.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

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