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Danger
300 Minutes of Danger
10 stories. 10 dangerous situations. 10 brave kids. 30 minutes to escape.
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
46 people are currently reading
314 people want to read
About the author
Jack Heath
67 books841 followersJack Heath wrote his debut novel, The Lab, in secondary school and sent it to a publisher at age seventeen. He's now the award-winning author of forty novels for adults and children, including the international bestsellers Hangman, The Wife Swap and 300 Minutes of Danger. His books have been translated into ten languages, optioned for TV and adapted for film. He lives on Ngunnawal/Ngambri country in Canberra, Australia, with his wife, their children, several chickens, a few fish and a possum named Oreo.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
July 11, 2018
A walk on the crazy side of the fun and of exploration and of the mother of all fast-thinking people. Of course, I won't start picking on the science part, it would be too tedious to be listing all the things that are wrong here. And of course, all the stuff - highly improbable and unbelievable. Nevertheless, it all had a certain charm and was a fun and furious read.
Q:
On commercial flights, pilots usually made boring speeches about weather patterns and arrival times. Now George understood why. Blasting along 5,000 metres above the ground at 300 kilometres per hour, it was hard to feel safe with a pilot who had a personality. Passengers wanted to believe the person in charge was essentially a robot. No sense of humour, no new ideas, no mistakes. (c)
Q:
His confidence made George worry more rather than less. (c)
Q:
‘Believe me,’ the pilot said, conversely making George believe him less, ‘it will be worth the cancellation fee. (c)
Q:
Even for an extreme-sport enthusiast, this was too much. (c)
Q:
George’s physics may not have been good, but he was top of his class in French. Paracete chute meant protect from falling. (c)
Q:
‘I don’t know how to use a parachute!’ George cried.
‘It’s easy. Just pull the ripcord ten seconds after you jump.’ (c)
Q:
He pulled the chute onto his back.
One of the shoulder straps snapped. ... And were those tooth marks? (с)
Q:
After trying five different channels with no response, he guessed the radio must be broken. No rudder, no radio, no parachute—did anything in this stupid plane work? (c)
Q:
But he had to try. There was nothing else he could do. He was a prisoner of his earlier choices. (c)
Q:
He hauled himself up as fast as he dared. He kept his eyes on the grey sky as though that would make him weightless. ... For each metre he climbed he lost thirty or forty centimetres. ... Knowing his luck, the cliff would begin to crumble any second now. (c)
Q:
He used his shadow to work out which way west was, then he put his board under his arm and started sloshing through the snow towards the top of the next peak.
His adventure was only just beginning. (c)
Q:
Currents. Wavelengths. Life forms. How had Otto gotten himself into this? (c)
Q:
‘But it was designed to withstand up to 114 MPa. At the bottom of this trench you should only be exposed to 110 MPa.’
That didn’t sound like much of a safety margin to Otto.
‘But what if it does implode?’ he pressed.
Mum and the engineer looked at one another.
‘It won’t,’ Mum said.
Her answer told Otto more than he wanted to know. ... For a moment he wished he had a normal mother. (c)
Q:
‘You’re probably fine.’
‘“Probably”?’
‘You’re fine.’ (c)
Q:
But the thing still didn’t open its jaws and spit out the sub. It was time for more drastic measures. (c)
Q:
‘Hey!’ he shouted, waving. ‘Is this enough weird life forms for you?’
She stared at the gigantic floating corpse, swarming with never-before-seen parasites from the mysterious depths of the ocean. A wild grin spread across her face. (c)
Q:
As she fell, a propeller shot past, missing her by centimetres. (c)
Q:
She took in the sun, the clouds, the trees, the water, and sucked in another deep breath.
That, she thought, is the smell of the Siberian wilderness. (c)
Q:
In books and movies the heroes always acted immediately. They didn’t stop to worry about consequences—they just ran into the burning building or jumped overboard to save the drowning swimmer or whatever.
But Kim was a thinker. He often worried that someday he would get the chance to be a hero, and he would hesitate too long. What if this was his chance right now? (c)
Q:
What would a superhero do? he asked himself again. (c)
Q:
Her parents had fallen in love with the apartment because every room had a window, all facing north. It seemed ridiculous that this very feature might kill her. (с)
Q:
Maybe it was the carbon dioxide getting to her brain, but it seemed like she could survive this. If she was brave, and just a little crazy. (c)
Q:
This is insane, she thought. I can’t do this.
But she knew she didn’t have a choice. This wasn’t a nightmare she could hide from in her parents’ bed. This was real life. Do or die. (c)
Q:
Not only had she lost her wallet and her phone, she had lost her status as a law-abiding citizen. (c)
Q:
‘Bloodstone. Do not test my resolve. After you saw my men come out of the bank, I ordered them to leave you on the train tracks. I ordered the train conductor to ram the car. I don’t know how you survived, but you won’t be so lucky twice.’
It sounded like this ‘Kim’ was having a very bad day. (c)
Q:
He wasn’t going to die just because some jerk couldn’t tell one kid from another. (c)
Q:
Wrong. I'm a great asronaut. (c)
Q:
On commercial flights, pilots usually made boring speeches about weather patterns and arrival times. Now George understood why. Blasting along 5,000 metres above the ground at 300 kilometres per hour, it was hard to feel safe with a pilot who had a personality. Passengers wanted to believe the person in charge was essentially a robot. No sense of humour, no new ideas, no mistakes. (c)
Q:
His confidence made George worry more rather than less. (c)
Q:
‘Believe me,’ the pilot said, conversely making George believe him less, ‘it will be worth the cancellation fee. (c)
Q:
Even for an extreme-sport enthusiast, this was too much. (c)
Q:
George’s physics may not have been good, but he was top of his class in French. Paracete chute meant protect from falling. (c)
Q:
‘I don’t know how to use a parachute!’ George cried.
‘It’s easy. Just pull the ripcord ten seconds after you jump.’ (c)
Q:
He pulled the chute onto his back.
One of the shoulder straps snapped. ... And were those tooth marks? (с)
Q:
After trying five different channels with no response, he guessed the radio must be broken. No rudder, no radio, no parachute—did anything in this stupid plane work? (c)
Q:
But he had to try. There was nothing else he could do. He was a prisoner of his earlier choices. (c)
Q:
He hauled himself up as fast as he dared. He kept his eyes on the grey sky as though that would make him weightless. ... For each metre he climbed he lost thirty or forty centimetres. ... Knowing his luck, the cliff would begin to crumble any second now. (c)
Q:
He used his shadow to work out which way west was, then he put his board under his arm and started sloshing through the snow towards the top of the next peak.
His adventure was only just beginning. (c)
Q:
Currents. Wavelengths. Life forms. How had Otto gotten himself into this? (c)
Q:
‘But it was designed to withstand up to 114 MPa. At the bottom of this trench you should only be exposed to 110 MPa.’
That didn’t sound like much of a safety margin to Otto.
‘But what if it does implode?’ he pressed.
Mum and the engineer looked at one another.
‘It won’t,’ Mum said.
Her answer told Otto more than he wanted to know. ... For a moment he wished he had a normal mother. (c)
Q:
‘You’re probably fine.’
‘“Probably”?’
‘You’re fine.’ (c)
Q:
But the thing still didn’t open its jaws and spit out the sub. It was time for more drastic measures. (c)
Q:
‘Hey!’ he shouted, waving. ‘Is this enough weird life forms for you?’
She stared at the gigantic floating corpse, swarming with never-before-seen parasites from the mysterious depths of the ocean. A wild grin spread across her face. (c)
Q:
As she fell, a propeller shot past, missing her by centimetres. (c)
Q:
She took in the sun, the clouds, the trees, the water, and sucked in another deep breath.
That, she thought, is the smell of the Siberian wilderness. (c)
Q:
In books and movies the heroes always acted immediately. They didn’t stop to worry about consequences—they just ran into the burning building or jumped overboard to save the drowning swimmer or whatever.
But Kim was a thinker. He often worried that someday he would get the chance to be a hero, and he would hesitate too long. What if this was his chance right now? (c)
Q:
What would a superhero do? he asked himself again. (c)
Q:
Her parents had fallen in love with the apartment because every room had a window, all facing north. It seemed ridiculous that this very feature might kill her. (с)
Q:
Maybe it was the carbon dioxide getting to her brain, but it seemed like she could survive this. If she was brave, and just a little crazy. (c)
Q:
This is insane, she thought. I can’t do this.
But she knew she didn’t have a choice. This wasn’t a nightmare she could hide from in her parents’ bed. This was real life. Do or die. (c)
Q:
Not only had she lost her wallet and her phone, she had lost her status as a law-abiding citizen. (c)
Q:
‘Bloodstone. Do not test my resolve. After you saw my men come out of the bank, I ordered them to leave you on the train tracks. I ordered the train conductor to ram the car. I don’t know how you survived, but you won’t be so lucky twice.’
It sounded like this ‘Kim’ was having a very bad day. (c)
Q:
He wasn’t going to die just because some jerk couldn’t tell one kid from another. (c)
Q:
Wrong. I'm a great asronaut. (c)
December 12, 2016
Gripping adventures, great writing. Highly recommended for big kids and adults.
Heath's book features ten ordinary kids in ten extraordinary situations. There is no time to wait for rescue: these kids have to use all their courage, strength and intelligence to save their own lives, and the lives of the people around them.
Parent's guide:
* A mix of races and backgrounds, both boy and girl characters
* No swearing, no sex, no drugs
* Some violence (situational eg vehicle accidents, or committed by bad guys eg being tied up)
* Lots of scary stuff, eg characters bring nearly crushed, nearly burned, nearly blown up, nearly crashed etc.
* The kids deal with big ethical dilemmas in age appropriate ways eg can you hurt someone if they are endangering you? Is an adult's life more important than a kid's?
* Adults (parents, emergency services) are right there to help out and return the kids to safety, buy without diminishing their efforts.
Heath's book features ten ordinary kids in ten extraordinary situations. There is no time to wait for rescue: these kids have to use all their courage, strength and intelligence to save their own lives, and the lives of the people around them.
Parent's guide:
* A mix of races and backgrounds, both boy and girl characters
* No swearing, no sex, no drugs
* Some violence (situational eg vehicle accidents, or committed by bad guys eg being tied up)
* Lots of scary stuff, eg characters bring nearly crushed, nearly burned, nearly blown up, nearly crashed etc.
* The kids deal with big ethical dilemmas in age appropriate ways eg can you hurt someone if they are endangering you? Is an adult's life more important than a kid's?
* Adults (parents, emergency services) are right there to help out and return the kids to safety, buy without diminishing their efforts.
April 1, 2016
Fantastic middle grade read! 10 stories, averaging about 17 pages each so great recommendation for a reluctant reader who loves action and adventure. So well written, Jack Heath is a master of his craft. I sometimes have trouble with middle grade books, I don't always relate and it can take me a while to get through the book but it was not the case with 300 Minutes of Danger. I absolutely ZOOMED through these stories. I also enjoyed that the stories intertwined but also stood alone. The production of the book was fantastic as well with handly little time reminders on the sides of the pages.
December 15, 2016
This is actually quite a good book!
March 5, 2019
This book had bad English, but the stories were good. 😕
April 5, 2017
What an awesome read! Every story was action packed. Each one grabbed me straight away and wouldn't let me go until I'd finished it. Highly recommended for young readers. I think this would be a great book to give to a reluctant reader. Also I feel this would be a fantastic book for aspiring young authors. Highly recommended!!
June 28, 2016
This makes great reading for young people, including boys, who aren’t used to sustained reading but want to read something worthwhile. Each chapter is a thrilling 30-minute episode in the life of a young person who must survive insurmountable odds. The writing is crisp and clear – and you could even set a challenge of trying to read each chapter in 30 minutes, real time! 10 dangerous situations. 10 brave kids. 30 minutes to escape. Great reading, which may spur reluctant readers onto other action-packed reading like ‘Conspiracy 365’ (Lord); ‘Big Game’ (Smith); ‘Inside the Cage’ (Whyman); ‘Stormbreaker’ (Horowitz); ‘Cherub’ series (Muchamore); ‘Alfred Kropp’ (Yancey); and ‘Percy Jackson’ (Riordan).
September 15, 2015
Was good, i liked the way he merged a couple of different points of views in different stories. My favorite would have to be last story. Not going to spoil! :P
January 7, 2022
If you love action fantasy books this one’s for you. It has awesome stories about kids with or without adults, and danger. It’s a life or death situation.
It really draws me in and I feel like the character in the book, trying to survive whatever I’m facing.
It really draws me in and I feel like the character in the book, trying to survive whatever I’m facing.
January 25, 2020
Dit boek geschreven door de Australische schrijver Jack Heath noemt 300 minuten. Het gaat over 10 tieners in 10 gevaarlijke situaties en ze hebben slechts 30 minuten om te ontsnappen. George moet ontsnappen uit een neerstortend vliegtuig zonder parachute, Otto moet ontsnappen uit zijn gezonken duikboot, Milla moet overleven voor dat de zuurstof in haar radioactieve veiligheidspak op is, Kim moet ontsnappen uit een kofferbak terwijl ze opgebonden zit en 5 andere tieners die moet zien om te ontsnappen van een gevaarlijke situatie.
Ik vond het boek heel goed, want dit boek was een thriller en spanning boek van genre en is persoonlijk één van mijn favoriete genres voor een boek. Elke verhaal was heel spannend en vol met actie. Dit is het eerste boek die ik ooit van Jack Heath heb gelezen en ik was heel verbaasd. Bij elk verhaal hadden de personages 30 minuten om te overleven, aan de zijkant van alle pagina's kon je het tijd op een bepaalde moment in het verhaal zien dat ik wel leuk en interresant vond. Mijn favoriete situatie uit de 10 gevaarlijke situaties is zeker het eerste waar George een neerstortend vliegtuig moet proberen overleven zonder parachute, want het was heel spannend en ik heb zelf een beetje hoogtevrees dus ik kon me wel een beetje inleven hoe het zou zijn voor diegene. Ik zou zeker dit boek aanraden voor mensen die houden van thrillers en actie volle verhalen. Voor de mensen die fobieën hebben van hoogte, smalle ruimtes, etc. zou ik dit boek niet aanraden.
Ik vond het boek heel goed, want dit boek was een thriller en spanning boek van genre en is persoonlijk één van mijn favoriete genres voor een boek. Elke verhaal was heel spannend en vol met actie. Dit is het eerste boek die ik ooit van Jack Heath heb gelezen en ik was heel verbaasd. Bij elk verhaal hadden de personages 30 minuten om te overleven, aan de zijkant van alle pagina's kon je het tijd op een bepaalde moment in het verhaal zien dat ik wel leuk en interresant vond. Mijn favoriete situatie uit de 10 gevaarlijke situaties is zeker het eerste waar George een neerstortend vliegtuig moet proberen overleven zonder parachute, want het was heel spannend en ik heb zelf een beetje hoogtevrees dus ik kon me wel een beetje inleven hoe het zou zijn voor diegene. Ik zou zeker dit boek aanraden voor mensen die houden van thrillers en actie volle verhalen. Voor de mensen die fobieën hebben van hoogte, smalle ruimtes, etc. zou ik dit boek niet aanraden.
July 2, 2019
This is the first book by jack Heath that I have read and I really enjoyed. I enjoyed because of all the survival tips and all the different ways to survive. One reason I enjoyed this book is because of the meaning it had. It all though it had stories of surviving it mainly was about how he could persevere in stages. A stage where he persevered was when he was on a crashing plane and he looked for anything to save him. Although he didn’t find anything to help him he carried on until he found his snowboard to break his fall. Another instance is when he was jumping over a cliff on his snowboard he didn’t stop and he had a positive mindset and he was thinking how’s he could save himself. I enjoyed this Book because it was a real page turner and made me want to carry on reading.
October 1, 2015
Admittedly I think I'm way too old to really enjoy this book. To me the situations seemed far fetched but I guess I can understand why kids would go nuts for it. The situations were very exciting and could very well make you hold your breathe as you wait to see what happens. My favourite part though? That some of the stories linked and weaved throughout each other and that it was all set in the same world infected by the deadly Flyrus. It really does seem to be a winner for say 8-9year olds.
October 23, 2016
While not being my usual fare, I zipped thorough this in no time (2 train journeys - in and out from work, and half an hour with a coffee on Friday afternoon). I think the format is interesting - 10 stories that are supposedly unrelated that meant to be read in 30 minutes each - with a count down 'clock' at intervals on each page. Hence the title! Maybe a little junior for our boys, however Jack Heath is popular here (made a big hit with the boys when he visited in 2012)
December 2, 2017
I used this book in my 6/7 composite literacy class and it was fantastic. The stories were exciting and both the boys and girls enjoyed them. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to engage young or challenged readers in literacy. Plus, as the teacher, it's always a bonus when I enjoy the book as much as the students. Jack Heath has created the perfect mix of age-appropriate danger and excitement. I highly recommend this text to teachers and young readers alike.
September 29, 2019
This book gives exactly what it promises, 300 minutes of danger. Fast paced, over the top and action packed, I was reminded of Matthew Reilly’s novels. A great concept, perfect for reluctant and voracious readers alike. Perfect to dip into without necessarily having to read the whole book, although I challenge anyone who reads one story not to read the book in one sitting.
March 14, 2018
My rating: 3/5 stars!
Recommended for young readers. Quick read. A variety of short stories all in one book. All about escapism -- All different characters getting into life threatening situations where they're running out of time and need to find a way out quick.
Recommended for young readers. Quick read. A variety of short stories all in one book. All about escapism -- All different characters getting into life threatening situations where they're running out of time and need to find a way out quick.
June 12, 2016
Love their is different chapters for the different people that are in danger and love their is a little bit of information of the author and their is a little information about the book like how a person is in danger from radioavtice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2024
Loved it a lot more than I thought I would. I like how the stories were all individual stories, but they were also in some way connected to each other. Also very tense stories, did not have the time or patience to spend 30 minutes on each story :P
November 15, 2015
awesome
February 28, 2016
It was a really cool, thrilling nerving book. I really enjoyed.
August 2, 2016
Short thrilling chapters. Very good at adding suspense and keeps the reader guessing as to the outcome of each tricky question.
February 21, 2018
I loved the 'poison' short story the best.
Read
March 16, 2018i think it is about 5 hours of danger and guide to stop them.
December 26, 2020
2020 wasn't all bad because I discovered Jack Heath, all of his books that I've read are packed with actions so there's no single dull moment and "unputdownable" is the right word to describe them. Good thing he wrote a lot other books and I'm determined to read all of them!
Back to the book - there are pieces of short stories that somehow connect to each other, all of which feel like episodes of Black Mirror with less tech but same amount of modern twists. The protagonists in the stories are smart and brave teenagers who fear no danger; and there are frequent mentions of flyrus that somehow has similarities with the current situation going on in the world. I love every minute of this book - 4.5 stars.
Back to the book - there are pieces of short stories that somehow connect to each other, all of which feel like episodes of Black Mirror with less tech but same amount of modern twists. The protagonists in the stories are smart and brave teenagers who fear no danger; and there are frequent mentions of flyrus that somehow has similarities with the current situation going on in the world. I love every minute of this book - 4.5 stars.
March 21, 2023
Middle grade boys will love the book. It’s gripping. Page turner where you don’t know how each protagonist will get out of the impossible predicament, yet they do. It’s a little bit of of fantasy, but kids will love every page.
Reference to blue-ray movies was perplexing.
I liked it best when the stories intersected.
Reference to blue-ray movies was perplexing.
I liked it best when the stories intersected.
September 3, 2024
I think my teenage self would have enjoyed this book a lot more than my current mid-50's self. This was a fast read and 10 short fast paced stories that alluded to situations in other stories but didn't cross over. I admit to being a little disappointed that the threads were not all picked up in the last story, so I felt like I had read 10 excepts (perhaps the intention) rather than a book.
July 10, 2021
Brilliant, 5 Stars!
300 Minutes of Danger, just like 200 Minutes of Danger, 400 and 500 minutes of Danger, was terrific! From the very beginning of the book, it pulled me in and kept me reading for ages! Great book, and I recommend it to all!
300 Minutes of Danger, just like 200 Minutes of Danger, 400 and 500 minutes of Danger, was terrific! From the very beginning of the book, it pulled me in and kept me reading for ages! Great book, and I recommend it to all!
January 23, 2022
A great concept for reluctant readers; short, action packed and ‘dangerous’ stories. Some stories are connected, all designed to be fast paced reads. Many stories feature a ‘flyrus’ and may be a little too close to home for some sensitive young readers during our current COVID pandemic.
July 16, 2022
My most recent stationary bike read, perfect because the stories are both short and edge-of-your-seat exciting. 4.4/5. There are bits of interconnectedness but the stories don't all pull together in a single destination as in 400 Minutes of Danger by the same author.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews