REVIEW: Never Say Die

Never Say Die
Author: Will Hobbs

Nick is 15 and excited to meet his half-brother Ryan who works as a wildlife photographer. As a half-Inuit living in Canada, Nick has a different view of hunting and trapping than Ryan does, so Nick is a bit unsure when his brother invites him to go on a 3-week trip into the wilderness with him. Ryan is going to document changes in the caribou herd for a National Geographic special on climate change. Nick finally agrees to go on the trip, which turns out to be quite the adventure!

This is a great survival adventure story. Not only do Nick and Ryan have to learn to work together to survive, but they also build a relationship of mutual respect with each other. They have some pretty in-depth discussions on environmental responsibility, climate change, hunting and wildlife preservation. I loved the fact that the story balanced the environmentalist side of the issue with the Inuit way of life in terms of hunting, putting GPS tracking collars on wildlife, and killing bears.

I listened to the audio book version of this story (Recorded Books). Narrated by Nick Cordero, the audio is just short of 4.5 hours long. Cordero has a nice voice and read at an even pace. I have partial hearing loss, but was easily able to hear and understand the entire book.

Will Hobbs has written several other nature adventure stories like this one. I enjoyed Never Say Die, so I will definitely be reading/listening to his other books!