Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Alden R. Carter

Just when fifteen-year-old Mark Severson and his diabetic cousin Randy start enjoying the canoe trip through Minnesota's lake country that is a family rite of passage, the trip turns into a fight for survival. Reprint.

Genres: Young Adult, Adventure, Survival, Teen, Realistic Fiction

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I wanted to bring more diabetes awareness to my students. While I enjoyed this action/adventure tale of survival, I can't put this out on my class shelves due to the mature language.

Reading this reminded me a lot of Hatchet. I wonder how the author researched it all.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story about two teenage boys who are forced by their fathers to live out in the wilderness for 10 days. They lose their food pack to a bear, get lost, smash their canoe, and generally have a hard time of it. To top it off, one of them has diabetis and loses his pack of insulin so one stays still and the other puts one foot in front of the other to get help for his cousin. A good read.

[Liza Maggio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated... some of the language of teens has changed and the terms for indigenous peoples have thankfully changed. Some of the dialogue felt unnatural/forced. The whole thing is a bit too dramatic to be believable for this reader. This is a 200-page YA novel and still felt long to me. I was angry with the parents. I loved the redemptive ending!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The actual survival part was pretty good, but took too long to happen and then felt rushed.

[Sunday Hollis · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good youth story of determination and survival.

[pooping fr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting quick story. Was not sure at first if it was going to be good, however ended quite nice

[America]

It wasn’t time for mark’s trip through the boundary waters where he will canoe.camp and fish hisway into manhood,just like his father and grandfather before him. Mark has to go with his cousin Randy who’s a diabetic.Randy uses his condition as an excuse not to pull his own weight.Mark’s not surprised when the trip gets off to a rocky start. He figures things will get better. But he’s wrong. Now,Mark and Randy are trapped together in the middle of nowhere. with no one to depend on but each other. Everything that could have gone wrong has Getting along doesn't matter anymore They need to fight to stay alive.

[Kristen Fort · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be much more likable than Hatchet. A pair of cousins, Mark and Randy, undertake a canoe trip that has been done in their family for generations. Sure, they know it can be dangerous, but anything that can go wrong does. It has some of the same other happenings as Hatchet, too, like Randy's parents getting closer to a divorce. It's a fast-paced adventure read that I wish more teens would read.

[Benjamin Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in middle school and remember liking it quite a bit. The story on the whole was interesting, but--with one notable exception--it was similar to a number of other survival stories I read around the same time. This book, however, has one passage that made it stand out in my memory. There's a scene where the two boys catch a northern pike and bring it into the canoe with them. This scene is hilarious. I laughed so hard I had to stop reading and share it with people.

[Blake P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an adventure drama. Where their camping and canoeing trip gets cut short. They lose everything they have and almost their lives. With nothing in their possession everything keeps getting worse. The only thing they can rely on is each other, as they come together to try to survive the wild. I really liked this book because of the adventure that these buddies went through

[Roz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was younger, and again not too long ago. It is one of those wonderful adventure / survival books with some great characters and character development. I think this is a pretty good book for teens to read, and if they can get past the slower beginning, they will be in for a ride.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good, they basically did the same thing every day. Also, a lot of swaring....

but nothing too bad

[Jonas · Rating 2 out of 5]

guess it was okay but do not read this book if youre not going into eighth grade or above

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting YA book. I would recommend to teenagers.

[Beth Dvorak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was younger, and I kept thinking about it and finally found it again!

[Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this book killed it's popularity. I'm convinced of that. No one wants to read this from a classroom library, but it is a great adventure story. Kids who like Hatchet will enjoy it.