Can You Survive the Wilderness? (You Choose: Survival) by Matt Doeden

Can You Survive the Wilderness? (You Choose: Survival) Reviews

• 
  Sherri

  This is part of the You Choose/Can You Survive series of adventure books that puts the reader in the middle of the action. This time the reader is dropped into the wilderness far away from civilization and forced to make choices that will hopefully lead to survival.
  
  At the end of the first chapter, readers get to choose three different remote areas to try to survive: (1) the Alaskan wilderness, (2) the forests of southeastern Australia, or (3) the forests of the Cascade Mountains. Then there are numerous possible outcomes for each of the extreme locations that will lead you to survival or death.
  
  My middle school students will love this adventurous tale that's full of action and the bonus is that they will also learn real information about these wilderness areas, along with some great pictures and illustrations that match the story.
  
  The book ends with additional useful information, including: survival tips, mini-biographies on real survivors, a survival quiz, more books to read, the Fact Hound website code to find out more internet resources, a glossary, a bibliography and an index.
• 
  Kayla

  Choose your adventure is a great format for teaching survival skills. My only complaint with this book is how unprepared the character is in each of the story lines. It was frustrating reading about someone who would go on a solo trip in the Alaskan wilderness and not leave a detailed itinerary, or go mountain biking alone and not bring any food! Lesson #1 in survival skills is BE PREPARED!
  
  Edit: I decided to remove a star after thinking about this book more. I think this book could have been improved had it followed only one storyline and the reader is able to make more choices in that particular scenario. Also in one of the settings, you are faced with a choice of taking a risky shortcut or trying to find a safer way. If you choose the less risky option, you die, which seems... wrong.
• 
  Nikky Cassidy

  The book was great. I learnt things about my own country. The other 2 countries were not that interesting but had some general helpful information. It was a bit repetitive. But it was quick and easy and kept my son interested in knowing both answers. It was a bit harsh at times when you didn’t make it but other times it was a bit nicer about how you… died. I think it would have been better if it was not harsh at times. But it did really make me think you have to be very careful with the decisions you make and take the utmost care of yourself and don’t take any risks.
• 
  Alex

  I read this book back-to-back with the earthquake one, and both had chapters that take place in Alaska. After reading both of them, I am now terrified that I will somehow land in Alaska in the middle of nowhere one day and have to try and survive. If these two books have taught me anything, it's that I will meet a quick and untimely death if that happens.
• 
  Rebecca Sofferman

  A choose your own adventure book about what it would be like to be lost on a deserted island and need to escape. There are four different scenarios in the book (different parts of the world), and multiple paths within each one. I used this as a read-aloud for a few different 6th grade classes and they loved it! The survival scenarios were even fairly realistic. A fun read!
• 
  Cindy Dracula

  I had never read an interactive adventure book before and it was really fun! I will seek them out with purpose.
• 
  Jaguar

  This is a You Choose book on survival. There are three places to survive...the Alaskan wilderness, the forests of southeastern Australia, and the forests of the Cascade mountains. Here are the decisions I chose.
  
  Alaskan wilderness: camp and wait for rescue > build snares > turn around and move away.
  » Results: You were patient and smart, and rescue has finally arrived. You've proven yourself a true outdoor survivalist. [rescued by plane]
  
  Australia: forage for wild plants > look for something else to eat > strip off clothes before crossing > climb down cliff.
  » Results: You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You're going to be OK. [found by two hiking sisters]
  
  Cascade Mountains: stay with Brandon and wait for rescue > stand up and confront the cougar > build large signal fire.
  » Results: You've done it! Both of you are going to make it out of the wilderness alive. [rescued by helicopter]
  
  Survival Quiz > My answers were as follows...B, D, C. [they are all correct].
  
  I am happy to say I survived all 3 survival situations! Out of all of these settings, I would say the most challenging one was the Cascade mountains. I very much enjoyed this book and plan on reading the other survival You Choose books.
• 
  Jaime

  Like other interactive adventure books, as you are reading you get to choose your own path. In this case, you may survive the Alaskan wilderness, the forests of Australia, of the forests of the Cascade Mountains. Once you choose your adventure, you are able to make other choices, such as hunting vs. fishing or waiting for rescue vs. searching for help. The book is both informative and entertaining. My students will enjoy both the book itself and the photos.
  
  Price: $23.54
  Suitability: Grades 3-8
  Illustrations: Photographs
  Genre: Non-fiction
  Possible Censorship Issues: N/A
  Call #: 613.6 DOE
• 
  Barbara

  Readers have three different wilderness survival paths to choose, one in the Alaskan wilderness, one in the forests of the Blue Mountains in Australia, and one in Washington's Cascade range. While some of the choices are obvious, others are not as clear-cut and often lead to death. The scenarios are propelled by the choices each reader makes, and they are made even more realistic through the inclusion of four real-life survival stories.
• 
  Lizzy

  It is a fun and easy read. Some of the stories do not end how you would expect even if you choose the safe route, but that’s sometimes how things work in the real world. I have some first responder training, and because of this I did not think the use of the word “shock” was accurate to describe the brother in the last adventure. He might have been in shock as the tale progressed, but it did not seem so initially.
• 
  Becky

  This looks like it might be fun and informative to read with the kids. I think it's kind of like Choose Your Own Adventure, but with a survival theme.
• 
  Donna

  Don't tell anyone I read this. Kiddo book.Four stars is for a fourth grader.
• 
  Sarah

  Learned some good survival stuff, it just was unnerving how often I died. The wild is wild.