Outback

by Robin Stevenson

Since his girlfriend dumped him, Jayden has been avoiding school-and life in general. When his eccentric uncle Mel invites him to help with his biology research at an Australian university, he figures he has nothing to lose. Once he arrives, he discovers Mel is obsessed with finding a new species of lizard and is determined to be the first to discover it. Unfortunately, this means an expedition into the scorching desert heat of the Australian outback...with the increasingly paranoid Mel and an unfriendly biology student named Natalie. Then disaster strikes, and Jayden and Nat find themselves many miles from civilization fighting for their survival.

Also available in Spanish.

Genres: Young Adult, Ebooks, Novels, Realistic Fiction

136 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Robin Stevenson is the award winning author of over thirty books of fiction and non-fiction for kids and teens. Her books have received starred reviews and have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff award and a Stonewall Honor, and been finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Lambda Literary Awards, and many reader’s choice awards. Robin was the Book and Periodical Council of Canada’s Champion of Free Expression for 2022, and received the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence in 2023. She lives on the west coast of Canada.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good story, showing the perils of not listening to the advice of experts (for when it's safest to travel where they were going) and not doing what you think is best when dealing with someone not all that trustworthy.

Jayden was an interesting character, surprisingly. I didn't think in the beginning of the book that I'd like him, but I did, so that was nice. I did think his attitude for some of the book was unnecessary, but I liked the way he handled the situation they were in towards the end of the book.

If you're looking for a quick and easy read, and the description sounds interesting to you, I say give this a read.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how it was set in Australia. :)

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was much too short for a survival story. There wasn’t nearly enough time to experience the dire situation in which they found themselves. It was all just first they did this, then they did this, next they did that, etc..

The behavior of Uncle Mel was completely implausible. I have no idea how this idiot could have made it in the scientific world.

[Austin Duke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great easy book to read. It is about a young boy who is sad and wants to do nothing, and then he decides to go to the outback with his uncle to find a new spices and then they lose everything to a car fire then they try to escape back to the city. I would recommend this book it is an easy short story.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great high-low book, very engaging and great descriptions of the Outback.

[Emily Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best hi-lo book I have read. It had an engaging plot with realistic, deep characters.

[Sharon Zink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and short. A tragic trip to the Outback in Australia with a rescue at the end. The author really throws all the obstacles she can think of at the heroes, but the end is very believable.

[Brandy]

The cover looked similar to another book titled outback…not the one I was expecting.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this one.

[Stephanie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque fue un libro chico, me gusto mucho porque tienen que saber cómo sobrevivir en un lago abandonado.
Mel está fascinado porque quiere encontrar la nueva especie de lagartijas pero eso lo lleva a su muerte.
Hay varios temas de los cuales puedo hablar:
#1 cómo sobrevivir cuando hay factores que van en contra de ti.
En este caso, Mel, Nat, y el muchacho piensan que se van a morir. Todo en el carro se quemo y no les queda remedio, pero Mel a fuerzas quiere encontrar las lagartijas. Entonces tienen que pensar en cuanta agua pueden tomarse al día para que puedan llegar a un lugar para agarrar ayuda. Nat tiene una enfermad y nomas tiene medicina para algunos días. Hace mucho calor y se deshidratadan rápido. Ellos tienen que planear bien: ellos nomas pueden viajar cuando en la puesta del sol para no cansarse tanto y tienen que caminar 33 millas entonces lo tienen que dividir en los días que les alcanza la agua.
#2 no darse por vencido aunque ya estés viendo tu fin
Como explique arriba, ya estaban tan cerca de la muerte. (Mel si se murió) Nat no piensa que van a llegar en los días que tienen planeado y que nadie les va a poder ayudar. Jay es un poco más optimismo pero igual enseña que tiene miedo en el interior. Cuando hay un plan y lo sigues, todo va a estar bien. También, el hi a a cometer suicidio porque su novia lo dejo pero le da gusto que no lo hizo porque esa aventura que tomó con Mel y Nat fue increíble.
#3 "find what you love & let it kill you"
No creo que esta frase puede ser 100% relacionada a la muerte de verdad como le pasó a Mel. Mel no se quería dar por vencido porque ha esperado toda su vida y ha planeado demasiado tiempo por este viaje. Tienes que tener algo de motivación en la vida para seguir adelante y hacer lo que te gusta. Al final, sí encontraron las lagartijas y confirmaron que fue una nueva especie y la nombraron algo relacionado con Mel. Mel estaría contento.

[bjneary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to Mike M. for reading and reviewing this for PSLA 2012!
Jayden’s been in the dumps since his girlfriend broke up with him. Jayden's mom sends him to Australia to see his uncle Mel for the summer. In the airport he is met by Natalia. Uncle Mel takes them on an expedition to Lake Disappointment to find a new species of lizard. Their vehicle catches fire and they don't have any way to get back. Disaster continues to strike and they are left with nothing. Will these two people who don't like each other be able to survive disaster? Drama in the Australian desert!

[Randy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read from Orca's Soundings series. Due to the shortness of the story, there was not a lot of time for character development. I liked the setting, and the idea of having to survie. Like Gary Paulsen's Brian series, the idea of having to survive in a wilderness is fun to read about. Hopefully I will be able to find an audience for htis book.

[Corinne Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good. It was a survivalist theme. Three people go into the outback in the middle of summer (ill advised) to find a new unidentified reptile. Disaster strikes almost immediately and they need to figure out how to suvive.

[Oanh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can up my number of books read if I just continue to accidentally read really short books. No idea this book was so brief! This was fine and enjoyable; brevity was actually its key problem. Not much of a survival story, really!

[René · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is it is really 3 short stories about 3 generations of the same family put together. It is a good read but I wish the gaps in time between the first and the second parts would have been covered.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was actually surprisingly pretty good. I always enjoy a good survival story and for the short few pages that it was, I feel like you got a lot out of it. I enjoyed how the character's perspectives changed and how they were able to learn and grow.

[Denise Tannock · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good quick read for my train trip to and from work.