The Darwin Expedition

by Diane Tullson

Tej and Liam are going snowboarding. When they take a shortcut over a treacherous logging road and have an accident, their adventure becomes more about survival than fresh powder. Tracked by a hungry bear, while trying to outrun the weather without any food, Tej and Liam learn about their friendship and what it will take to survive. When Tej is hurt, Liam decides he has to go for help—alone.

Genres: Young Adult, Survival, Adventure, Ebooks, Teen, Action

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Diane Tullson is a professional writer. She has published several books for young adults and written for magazines such as Canadian Living and Westworld. She has an MFA in Creative Writing, BA in English Literature, and has studied journalism and editing. Diane Tullson lives with her family near Vancouver, BC.

Reviews

[Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a okay book it was good but not the best. I liked that there was some sort of adventure in this book because there were some parts that got more suspenseful than others. I didn't really like the how the book started off because it started with a conflict. But i did like the way the book ended up because Tej and the first person POV had to work together as a team to find their way out of the forest. Overall, I recommend this book to people that like a book that is adventure and just has a good story line.

[Brady Bonnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

My opinion about Diane Tullson’s book The Darwin Expedition is balanced. It is about a spunky 16 teen year old boy named Liam and his older (cousin/brother) Tej. One day the boys were up on a mountain skiing but as they were on their way home Tej’s truck slides off the rainy road and rolls down the side of the mountain. Now stranded Liam and Tej (once hated each other) have to rely on the other to survive the mials of thick forest. Through the book the boys take on many obstacles to try to survive to the nearest hope of help, also you begin to see that Tej and Liam start to become more closer. At the end Liam risks his own life to find help for (now injured) Tej, and by doing this he sees that the two boys have more in common than they think.

The one thing that I do not like about The Darwin Expedition is that the book itself looks like a long book but it ends too quickly. All the obstacles that the boys go through is trying to avoid the bear and finding food and shelter. In the book it only takes three days for them to survive and get home, but not much detail about the days. So my opinion is that it can be a bit longer and more detailed. The one reason why I like the book is that it gives you the “edge of seat” thrill when it does get good. Those are the type of books that get me reading. Diane Tullson sure did get me interested in the first three pages.

I would recommend this book to boys or girls around middle school to high school (11+)group. This is because its a great book but a little hard to read and understand if you are a fifth grader. This book would be great for people who like a little bit of action to make you wonder what is next.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book, one that I think young men would really enjoy but that is also an interesting read for girls too. The story is about two friends on their way snowboarding when they crash off the road, a road which is a logging road and is hardly used at that time of year. So they quickly have to find a way to survive the forest and get to civilization. There are many intriguing things that happen to them, the story felt much longer than just a hundred pages, and was all in all a fun read. I'd definitely recommend it.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was very action packed. I have to say that this book would probably not be good for a girl to read. They would most likely not enjoy it. But, guys of any ages would like this book. Because it is very suspenseful and it is one of those books that you would like to see how you would handle yourself in that certain situation.

[Criddle07 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adventure and survival are what I love to read the most, however, this book didn’t fulfill what I wanted out of it. Picking it up off of the shelf was probably a good move because it had great content. Sadly, the book was too short. I wanted a little more adventure and peril in this story.
The two high schoolers in the book, Tej and Liam, are going on an adventure to snowboard down a beautiful mountain. Due to the traffic on the main highway, they decided to take a shortcut. The shortcut seemed to be a good idea at first, but the harsh weather caused them to get stranded in the middle of the mountain. With food declining and the weather becoming even worse, they needed to find help fast.
I would rate this book a three out of five stars. I liked how the author described the teenagers during the struggles and perils. The author did a very nice job on describing the setting as well. If you love adventure and survival, you might want to take a look at this book.

[Julien Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shortcuts aren’t always the best way to go. Tej and Liam found this out the hard way. It is crazy how a short cut can turn into a life threatening ordeal. After deciding to take a snowboarding trip to spend together, Tej and Liam soon decide that it is time to go snowboarding. As they are snowboarding, they see a short cut that is off the regular trail. However, the guys aren’t used to the short cut and get into a terrible accident. To make matters worse, hungry bears are on their way to the same spot that they are at. They are forced to survive the best they can after the terrible accident and the bear attack.

[Jessica Nekuda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. Read it while listening to my student read it aloud-he didnt finish it but I did.

not what I would pick but I did enjoy it. Very real

[Christine J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, quick read for reluctant readers.

[Lexi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars. It was a short book, I picked out in Mrs.Doty's. It was fine nothing special. The adventure was written really fast paced, but it kept my attention. I think I'm more afraid for bears now.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just okay.

[Jesus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do Liam and Tej make out alive?? You want to read about this book and find out more what happens to Liam and Tej. Go to your closest library and search for this book. The title of this book is called Darwin Expedition. The author is Diane Tullson. The Darwin Expedition is about two boys who get into a car accident and go into a ditch. They are pretty far from the town so they try going through the woods. They struggle Liam gets injured and they find bears on their way back home… Read more to find out what happens to Liam and Tej.
I think this book is one of the greatest book I’ve read this year.

The Darwin Expedition is about two boys who get into a car accident and go into a ditch. They are pretty far from the town so they try going through the woods. They don’t have any food to eat or water to drink after the third day. My experiences on reading this book is that you can always run into trouble no matter what so you should always be prepared. Don’t always think you won’t run into trouble so be prepare and always pack some things you might need in case of an emergency. I think this book was worth my time every time I sat and read it on y free time. It took me awhile to read this book because I had other homework to do, but I still read it. This book wasn’t the first book I read in years, but it is sure the second book I’ve read this year. It sure was worth my time though it even made me put my phone to the side and keep reading more and more.If you want to know more and find out what happens to Liam and Tej on their adventure. Go to the library and search this book.

I recommend this book to the high schoolers that are sophomores or juniors, but any high schooler can read it. Anyone can read this book. It is intended to ny audience, but especially to those who like adventure books. This book shouldn’t be read by students who don’t like reading or aren’t in school. One last thing Liam and Tej separate in the woods and go on their own to get help….

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Darwin Expedition was pretty good on my standards. It's about two guys that are driving and crash into the middle of a forest. They then have to survive until they can get back to the road where someone can help them. In most books you can predict the ending easily, but in The Darwin Expedition my prediction was completely wrong. The ending was exciting because I expected one of those same-old happy endings but got something much better. To me it was a very good book because it had a lot of action. It also had a lot of those moments where you really want to keep reading to see what happens next. I thought it could've been much longer if it included things that went on between events though. That is my biggest issue with this book. It also seemed confusing who was talking at the time. Overall though, this was a good book.

[Cesar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is about that these two kids went to go snow boarding and went through the woods for a short cut to get to the snow boarding faster. But on the way there they got lost and then going through the woods a bear spotted them in the woods and then they were running trying to find a way out of the woods to get rid of that bear. I liked the part when they were getting chased by a bear because it added more action to the story and want to know what is going to happen next in the story. I like the part when they decide when they decide to take the woods instead of the main road. I also liked the part when they go on a journey only go by themselves and with no adults. They both did live and but Tej got hurt on his foot.

[Ashton Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was not bad but not good either. In the book, “The Darwin Expedition”, Two boys get lost in a forest and are chased by a bear throughout the story. The author makes this completely awesome sounding idea, and makes it just about as interesting as your average book. There is any huge plot twist. The only decently interesting or funny thing about this book is that the main characters’ situation just gets worse and worse. I would recommend this book to beginning readers or people who don't like reading. If I were you, I’d read it at my leisure.

[Mr. Baad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and exciting read about two boys' experience in the wilderness after sliding off a logging road. Lost, they attempt to find their way back to the highway only to discover they are being tracked by a grizzly bear. A fast-paced story with two developed and complex characters.

[Trent · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Darwin Expedition by Diane Tullson is a book about two people that are going snowboarding and their wheels slip on the icy back road. They have to survive and find their way back to the highway. But they will be stalked by bears. What will they do and when will they make it out?

[LoriLibraryLady · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for classes with many boys. The survival aspects appeal to many of our guys around here. It is an excellent HI-LO book. It probably won't win any literary awards, but all the kiddos who start it will finish it--which matters way more to me.

[Martha · Rating 1 out of 5]

A stupid book about people stupid enough to remove themselves from the evolutionary chain.

[Teen]

Two teens heading off on a road trip have a car accident on a lonely road, and have more of a wilderness experience than they had bargained for.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good for people who don't like reading. It wasn't obnoxious or anything, just not real engaging.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this had been longer it would have been a great book.

[Collin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book for whom ever likes to read suspense and thriller books that keep you wanting more!

[Eva · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written with no plot or character development. There is no possible way a reader can feel any empathy for these characters.

[Branden Pittman]

I read The Darwin Expedition by Diane Tullson, I found this story some what interesting because of how the story was written. This story started out decently fast so it grabbed my attention because I am not the type to read a story that is slow in the beginning because at that point I loose interest. The Darwin Expedition jumps right into the story and doesn't seem to ever be slow. Yes there are some points in the story where it's kinda slowing down but at the same time being interesting. In the story you find out that Tej and Liam are always going back and fourth with each other it is kinda funny. Tej and Liam are the main characters in the story and stay with each other throughout the whole story. I would recommend this story to people who like action books. I personally thought that is was a good book and will continue to read stories written by Diane Tullson. There is just something unique about the orca sounding books and it just really catches a lot of readers attention's. The stories are short and they all jump right into the story without a slow beginning and I feel like most people hate slow beginnings. For me personally it just doesn't grab my attention if it is slow in the very beginning.