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Jungle Escape
From acclaimed author Nathan Luff - new middle grade adventure full of action, danger, creepy crawlies and lots of laughs!
Dear Evolution,
If the bird you have made is too big to fly, it is TOO BIG – FULL STOP!
Yours, Branson Hawthorne Esquire
When Branson’s parents announce a ski trip to Aspen, he’s thrilled – until he learns he won’t be going with them. Instead, Branson is being sent to an exclusive retreat in the Daintree Rainforest that promises poolside luxury, cuisine classes, and lessons in interior decoration. Not his idea of a holiday.
But, when they arrive at the resort, Branson and the other kids learn they’ve been duped! The building is in ruins, the bathroom’s covered in slime, and the pool is empty. It turns out the owners have lured the kids to Jungle Escape to work as free labour and restore the resort.
Branson and his new friends need to find a way out of this hell hole and the Daintree Rainforest. Will they be able to escape this jungle, or will they end up as cassowary – or crocodile – lunch?
Dear Evolution,
If the bird you have made is too big to fly, it is TOO BIG – FULL STOP!
Yours, Branson Hawthorne Esquire
When Branson’s parents announce a ski trip to Aspen, he’s thrilled – until he learns he won’t be going with them. Instead, Branson is being sent to an exclusive retreat in the Daintree Rainforest that promises poolside luxury, cuisine classes, and lessons in interior decoration. Not his idea of a holiday.
But, when they arrive at the resort, Branson and the other kids learn they’ve been duped! The building is in ruins, the bathroom’s covered in slime, and the pool is empty. It turns out the owners have lured the kids to Jungle Escape to work as free labour and restore the resort.
Branson and his new friends need to find a way out of this hell hole and the Daintree Rainforest. Will they be able to escape this jungle, or will they end up as cassowary – or crocodile – lunch?
246 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2025
2 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Nathan Luff
13 books14 followersNathan Luff is the author of The Nerd Herd and Family Disasters series as well as the middle grade novels Jungle Escape, Bad Grammar and Chicken Stu.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 24, 2024
Thank you to Walker Books for this advance reader’s copy.
As the holiday period draws closer, all families plan their get together and holiday events - but, sometimes they’re not what we expect.
Branson’s an only child. His parents have an amazingly designed home, set of friends and ski trip in Aspen planned. None of this seems to include Branson. He’s being sent to ‘Jungle Escape’ in Cairns, Queensland.
There he encounters a cassowary, snakes, the world’s most painful plant (Gympie Gympie), crocodile infested waters and The Commonsense Cookery Book. What could go wrong?
A great adventure and discovery story recommended for readers aged +7 years old.
Due for release February 2025, I foresee a number of excellent Book Week 2025 costumes and author visits in Nathan Luff’s future.
Here’s hoping these characters get another book (they are so much fun). I’ll have to write a letter of criticism, otherwise.
As the holiday period draws closer, all families plan their get together and holiday events - but, sometimes they’re not what we expect.
Branson’s an only child. His parents have an amazingly designed home, set of friends and ski trip in Aspen planned. None of this seems to include Branson. He’s being sent to ‘Jungle Escape’ in Cairns, Queensland.
There he encounters a cassowary, snakes, the world’s most painful plant (Gympie Gympie), crocodile infested waters and The Commonsense Cookery Book. What could go wrong?
A great adventure and discovery story recommended for readers aged +7 years old.
Due for release February 2025, I foresee a number of excellent Book Week 2025 costumes and author visits in Nathan Luff’s future.
Here’s hoping these characters get another book (they are so much fun). I’ll have to write a letter of criticism, otherwise.
May 14, 2025
Jungle Escape is a chapter book for kids, written by Nathan Luff. It features the story of Branson Hawthorne. He feels that his parents aren’t spending enough time with him. When they send him away to a resort, he finds out that it’s not the same version that appears in the brochure. The one he arrives at, alongside the other kids, is a run down and messed up facility. He and the other kids are expected to clean it up and restore it.
Mmmm… My first thought about the book is that it’s mediocre. It feels kind of a generic theme and the characters fall into certain tropes as well. There are a few jokey bits about characters and their expectations, but the jokey aspects get old due to repetition. For example, Elton has regular complaints about his entitlement and the way he expects others to do things for him. At first, it felt like a joke, but it does feel grating after a little while.
Honestly, it’s a somewhat generic book where kids are sent to a camp and are then shocked that they need to do manual labour. In this case, they’re rich kids and are shocked that they don’t even have phone reception. Sal is the woman who runs the place, has just bought it, and is expecting the kids to help clean it and set it up properly. One the first night, she even expects them to cook their own dinner; simply leaving them ingredients and a cookbook. The kids are desperate to escape and start coming up with plans to try to get in touch with their parents. So, the child labour and child mistreatment aspects of the book are definitely gross. Especially to the point where they’re locked in rooms at points and the captors don’t even want to let them out to use the bathroom. So, to be blunt, a lot of the aspects of the book feel really miserable and awful.
Honestly, I wish the book were a more positive experience. While the author has written that the kids later began to enjoy the place, and don’t want to leave, it still feels like it’s an absolutely miserable experience for them. Considering the amount of filth they were put into, and the unsafe conditions, it’s ridiculous that the author tried to later imply that Sal is a good person… Uhhhhh… What? Absolutely not. And it’s ridiculous that the author dares to even imply that, considering the way the character was trying to exploit these kids. And that’s a lot of why I rated the book so low. The ending simply doesn’t make sense; considering how negatively the kids were treated, and then the author decides that the kids think it was a good experience…? What?
Overall… I didn’t like it. I can see what the author is trying to do, but it’s just not a book I enjoyed. I’m sure others will enjoy it more than I did. The ending, for me, felt like forced positivity, rather than how people actually in that situation would act. It felt completely as if the author were pushing for a certain ending yet failed to consider the entirety of the rest of the book. I did not like it.
Mmmm… My first thought about the book is that it’s mediocre. It feels kind of a generic theme and the characters fall into certain tropes as well. There are a few jokey bits about characters and their expectations, but the jokey aspects get old due to repetition. For example, Elton has regular complaints about his entitlement and the way he expects others to do things for him. At first, it felt like a joke, but it does feel grating after a little while.
Honestly, it’s a somewhat generic book where kids are sent to a camp and are then shocked that they need to do manual labour. In this case, they’re rich kids and are shocked that they don’t even have phone reception. Sal is the woman who runs the place, has just bought it, and is expecting the kids to help clean it and set it up properly. One the first night, she even expects them to cook their own dinner; simply leaving them ingredients and a cookbook. The kids are desperate to escape and start coming up with plans to try to get in touch with their parents. So, the child labour and child mistreatment aspects of the book are definitely gross. Especially to the point where they’re locked in rooms at points and the captors don’t even want to let them out to use the bathroom. So, to be blunt, a lot of the aspects of the book feel really miserable and awful.
Honestly, I wish the book were a more positive experience. While the author has written that the kids later began to enjoy the place, and don’t want to leave, it still feels like it’s an absolutely miserable experience for them. Considering the amount of filth they were put into, and the unsafe conditions, it’s ridiculous that the author tried to later imply that Sal is a good person… Uhhhhh… What? Absolutely not. And it’s ridiculous that the author dares to even imply that, considering the way the character was trying to exploit these kids. And that’s a lot of why I rated the book so low. The ending simply doesn’t make sense; considering how negatively the kids were treated, and then the author decides that the kids think it was a good experience…? What?
Overall… I didn’t like it. I can see what the author is trying to do, but it’s just not a book I enjoyed. I’m sure others will enjoy it more than I did. The ending, for me, felt like forced positivity, rather than how people actually in that situation would act. It felt completely as if the author were pushing for a certain ending yet failed to consider the entirety of the rest of the book. I did not like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2025
This book made me laugh out loud. The vivid descriptions painted a very clear picture of the spiders, snakes and rainforest in north Queensland. The personal growth in the children was lovely to read.
Branson isn’t sure his parents even wanted a child. They pack him off to a camp in north Queensland without a second thought as they head off skiing in Canada.
Four young people meet up at the airport, all have been sent away by their parents, all are resentful and suspicious of each other. On arrival, however, the dire circumstances they find themselves in, a run-down camp needing extensive cleaning and renovating, appalling food they have to cook for themselves and mouldy sleeping quarters united the band of ‘holiday makers’.
Their failed escape, encounters with wildlife and fear that their parents may not help them make the four young people evaluate how they need to work together to survive.
Recommended for readers aged ten years and older.
Branson isn’t sure his parents even wanted a child. They pack him off to a camp in north Queensland without a second thought as they head off skiing in Canada.
Four young people meet up at the airport, all have been sent away by their parents, all are resentful and suspicious of each other. On arrival, however, the dire circumstances they find themselves in, a run-down camp needing extensive cleaning and renovating, appalling food they have to cook for themselves and mouldy sleeping quarters united the band of ‘holiday makers’.
Their failed escape, encounters with wildlife and fear that their parents may not help them make the four young people evaluate how they need to work together to survive.
Recommended for readers aged ten years and older.
August 10, 2025
Jungle Escape is an exciting and actually fun novel.
I enjoyed a lot of it and personally, it taught me how to make emails of complaint. (Thank you Branson Hawthorne)
I recommend this book for ages 6 and up, if any six year olds would be interested in reading.
I kinda am sad I finished it but the end was heartwarming.
Best regards,
Zoe
I enjoyed a lot of it and personally, it taught me how to make emails of complaint. (Thank you Branson Hawthorne)
I recommend this book for ages 6 and up, if any six year olds would be interested in reading.
I kinda am sad I finished it but the end was heartwarming.
Best regards,
Zoe
April 3, 2025
This is such a fun, funny, adventure book for middle grade readers. Ideal for 8-12 year olds, they will absolutely love Brandon’s antics for trying to escape the resort. I loved the dynamics between the new friends and the characters were so fun.
October 2, 2025
Set in the Daintree, this action packed adventure story with plenty of laughs is a great read for mid to upper primary children.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews