#1 Wilder Boys
Two brothers will need all their wilderness skills to survive when they set off into the woods of Wyoming in search of their absent father.
Jake and Taylor Wilder have been taking care of themselves for a long time. Their father abandoned the family years ago, and their mother is too busy working and running interference between the boys and her boyfriend, Bull, to spend a lot of time with them. Thirteen-year-old Jake spends most of his time reading. He pours over his father’s journal, which is full of wilderness facts and survival tips. Eleven-year-old Taylor likes to be outside playing with their dog, Cody, or joking around with the other kids in the neighborhood.
But one night everything changes. The boys discover a dangerous secret that Bull is hiding. And the next day, they come home from school to find their mother unconscious in an ambulance. Knowing they are no longer safe and with nowhere else to go, the Wilder Boys head off in search of their father. They only have his old letters and journal to help them, but they have to make it.
It’s a long journey from the suburbs of Pittsburgh to the wilderness of Wyoming; can the Wilder Boys find their father before Bull catches up with them?
★★★★☆
When Jake Taylor's mother is left beaten and unconscious by boyfriend Bull, Jake and his younger brother, Taylor, decide it's likely no longer safe to continue living with her. As they learn a little more about Bull, they discover he's a dangerous man tied up in illegal dealings, possibly even murder. Learning this, the Wilder boys take it upon themselves to try to track down their biological father, who abandoned the family years earlier.
As far as figuring out their father's whereabouts, all the boys have to go on is a journal he wrote full of wilderness facts and survival tips, information that will prove quite handy as they make their way across the country looking for him. Jake is also aided by information he retained from attending an outdoor school the previous summer. This trip will take them from Pennsylvania all the way through to the wilds of Wyoming. There's quite the adventure in store for these lads, as they find themselves thrown into a crash course on surviving the elements, scaring off bears, fighting off angry Dobermans, train jumping, and fighting / escaping some violent hobos. At one point there's even a close call with some poisonous berries! But they survive, eventually finding assistance from an unlikely source --- a female trucker / former addict with a criminal record.
As the older brother, Jake naturally falls into the protector role, but secretly is often unsure of himself and his choices. Meanwhile, younger brother Taylor displays an impressive blend of unshakeable optimism and steely determination.
There's a fair amount of violence... and perhaps some questionable characters / material (depending on how strict you are with your child's reading material)... for a Middle Grade audience, but there's plenty of benefit to this series as well. Not only is the adventure itself a well-paced, entertaining read, but this book, as well as its sequel, offers supplemental materials at the end. In the case of Book 1, there's a mini plant identification guide, instructions on how to use glass to start a fire, and how to create and set fish traps.
#2 Wilder Boys: The Journey Home
Two brothers must rely on all their wilderness skills to survive their journey home after reuniting with their father and living off the grid in the second adventure of the Wilder Boys series.
At the start of the summer, Jake and Taylor Wilder set out on the adventure of a lifetime. After seeing their mother loaded into an ambulance because of Bull, her terrifying boyfriend, the boys know they are no longer safe. So they go in search of their father, who has been living off the grid in Wyoming. After jumping trains, hitching a ride with a truck driver, and hiding in the luggage compartment of a tour bus, the boys finally find him in Grand Teton National Park.
Just as the boys are getting used to their father’s lifestyle—and his “my way is the only way” attitude—they learn that their mother is still alive. But if the brothers don’t give back the money they took from Bull last year, she could be taken away from them…for good.
Convinced that their father isn’t going to help, the Wilder boys set out on their own again. It’s a long way from Wyoming to Pittsburgh, and with winter approaching there will be new challenges. But they have to get back. Will the brothers be able to make it back to their mother before it’s too late?
At the start of the summer, Jake and Taylor Wilder set out on the adventure of a lifetime. After seeing their mother loaded into an ambulance because of Bull, her terrifying boyfriend, the boys know they are no longer safe. So they go in search of their father, who has been living off the grid in Wyoming. After jumping trains, hitching a ride with a truck driver, and hiding in the luggage compartment of a tour bus, the boys finally find him in Grand Teton National Park.
Just as the boys are getting used to their father’s lifestyle—and his “my way is the only way” attitude—they learn that their mother is still alive. But if the brothers don’t give back the money they took from Bull last year, she could be taken away from them…for good.
Convinced that their father isn’t going to help, the Wilder boys set out on their own again. It’s a long way from Wyoming to Pittsburgh, and with winter approaching there will be new challenges. But they have to get back. Will the brothers be able to make it back to their mother before it’s too late?
★★★★★
When readers met the mother of the Wilder boys in Book 1, it was looking like she was at death's door. Not wanting to be separated as orphans, her sons set out to track down their father, who had abandoned the family years earlier. Now, in this sequel, we find that mom is still hanging on, but just barely.
Coming to the realization that their father doesn't actually have all the magical solutions they'd hoped for, Jake once again fears what reality will bring for him and his younger brother, Taylor. Should they head back to Pennyslvania? What's waiting for them there if they do? Not only do the boys not want to be separated, but now the winter months are settling in, making cross-country travel (of any kind) that much more difficult. Already, since coming to Wyoming, Jake has fallen through a lake. Though he was saved from drowning, he did experience hypothermia. Jake's father is pushing him to hold off doing anything until safer travel plans can be arranged.
Again, some heavy topics addressed here and there, just like in the first book, but still... such a great read! I feel we get to know these characters on such a deeper level in this second book... maybe that sense comes simply from this being a sequel --- the sheer fact that by now we've been with these characters awhile. Regardless, it was great to see the emotional growth of these boys on the cusp of their teen years, trying to make the best of a difficult situation with problematic parents. While the dad took some getting used to (his demeanor came off a little brusque at times), I could appreciate that he does honestly care about his boys and wants the best for them, even if that might mean not having him directly in their lives all the time.
In this sequel's supplemental materials, readers are taught wilderness techniques such as how to identify Polaris (North Star) in the night sky, how to bake berry cobbler in a dutch oven, how to use arrowleaf balsam root, how to identify the deadly variety of parasol mushrooms (some are edible), how to set deer and rabbit traps, and how to build snowshoes and snow caves.
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