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Lost #3
Lost in the Amazon: A Battle for Survival in the Heart of the Rainforest
Peru, Christmas Eve, 1970.
It was supposed to be a routine flight, carrying 86 passengers across the Andes Mountains and home for the holiday. But high above the Amazon rainforest, a roiling storm engulfs the plane. Lightning strikes. A deafening whoosh sweeps through the cabin. And suddenly, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke is alone. The plane has vanished. She is strapped to her seat and plunging 3,500 feet to the forest floor.
On Christmas Day, she wakes. She is injured, covered in mud, but strangely--miraculously--alive. And now, in a remote corner of the largest rainforest on Earth, the real battle for survival begins.
It was supposed to be a routine flight, carrying 86 passengers across the Andes Mountains and home for the holiday. But high above the Amazon rainforest, a roiling storm engulfs the plane. Lightning strikes. A deafening whoosh sweeps through the cabin. And suddenly, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke is alone. The plane has vanished. She is strapped to her seat and plunging 3,500 feet to the forest floor.
On Christmas Day, she wakes. She is injured, covered in mud, but strangely--miraculously--alive. And now, in a remote corner of the largest rainforest on Earth, the real battle for survival begins.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
61 people are currently reading
415 people want to read
About the author
Tod Olson
19 books44 followersTod Olson is author of the historical fiction series HOW TO GET RICH, a Booklist Top Ten Series Non Fiction for Youth selection (don't tell them, but it's fiction). The first two books in his narrative nonfiction series, LOST, are now available. Tod lives with his family in Vermont and holds an MFA from Vermont College of the Fine Arts.
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May 8, 2018Lost in the Amazon is a true story. Its based on a flight that was flying to Pucallpa from Lima. The flight had 92 people on board and it hit a storm and crashed. Juliane was detached from the plane and her row of seats came spinning down to the rainforest floor. When she woke up she remembered that se was on a flight. She didn't feel any pain but she saw that her body was covered in mud and her collar bone was broken and had a huge gash in the back of her arm. She knew the only way she could survive is to find a stream of water and that will lead to a river. Dose Juliane make it to safety or does she give up and have her last days staring up to the massive trees?
January 22, 2023
The true story of how Juliane Koepcke fell out of a plane into the Amazon rainforest and walked for two weeks until she found people. Absolutely riveting. This is a children’s book, but well-written. Includes photographs.
April 5, 2018
Excellent, fast-paced narrative non-fiction with tons of text features. A more mature (and true!) version of the I Survived series, in my opinion.
April 18, 2018
I really enjoyed the two previous Lost books by Tod Olson so I was excited to pick this one up. I was not at all disappointed. It lived up to my expectations in every way. The story revolves around a Peruvian airplane flight that took off on Christmas Eve of 1970. After crossing the Andes on it's way to a town in the Amazon rainforest, the plane ran into a dangerous thunderstorm. Instead of flying around it or trying to get above it, the pilot took the risk of flying into the storm. The plane is struck by lightening causing the plane to come apart in the air. Juliane Koepcke plunges thousands of feet to the forest below, still strapped in her seat, but having lost her mother. She woke up to find herself utterly alone and injured, and unbeknownst to her, the lone survivor. Having grown up on her parent's experiment station in the Amazon rainforest, Juliane had some background knowledge of the plants and animals she now found herself surrounded by. But she's got a broken collar bone and several nasty wounds, she also finds herself with only a small bag of hard candy, a single sandal, and her mini-dress for supplies. A concussion made it difficult for her to think clearly, but her survival instincts were strong and she remembered that her father had told her stories about people who followed streams and rivers to safety after getting lost. So she seeks out the running water she hears nearby and starts to follow it.
But as the days pass by, Juliane finds herself getting weaker as she starts to starve and her wounds become infected. Despite nearly giving up hope several times, she presses on. Meanwhile, the plane has been missed and people have started to look for it. The question is whether Juliane can find help before her body gives out and the forest takes her. In addition to telling Juliane's story, the author presents some interesting background on the forest itself and those who've tried to explore it. This provides a powerful backstory revealing just how dangerous the Amazon rainforest can be. Olson has written another compelling true story that middle grade readers are bound to enjoy. I had a hard time putting it down.
But as the days pass by, Juliane finds herself getting weaker as she starts to starve and her wounds become infected. Despite nearly giving up hope several times, she presses on. Meanwhile, the plane has been missed and people have started to look for it. The question is whether Juliane can find help before her body gives out and the forest takes her. In addition to telling Juliane's story, the author presents some interesting background on the forest itself and those who've tried to explore it. This provides a powerful backstory revealing just how dangerous the Amazon rainforest can be. Olson has written another compelling true story that middle grade readers are bound to enjoy. I had a hard time putting it down.
January 27, 2020
This book used excellent descriptive details and was very engaging. It was even more interesting because it was a true story.
December 21, 2019
The story was both informative, scary and anxiety inducing however it was very well told and a very interesting story.
March 8, 2019
For anyone who loves survival stories, Tod Olson's LOST series is a must. He yanks you in with suspense and edge-of-your-seat drama. I loved Lost in the Pacific just as much and Lost in Outer Space is now on my must read list. His books are nonfiction with a loaded bibliography if you get so obsessed you need more.
This book is about the unbelievable crash of LANSA flight 508 outbound from Lima, Peru in 1970. Mid flight it encountered a severe storm. Lightning struck and severed the wings. Several seats were ripped out of the plane and plunged over half a mile into the Amazon rainforest. One passenger, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke, was the lone survivor. As if surviving the fall wasn't enough, Juliane still had to find her way out of the forest. Her one glimmer of luck was her childhood. Both of her parents were biologists who spent years in the rainforest studying the rare plants and animals. Juliane was by their side through it all. She walked for over a week and a half with infected wounds, dodging the dangers she knew existed all around. Eventually, she was found, again by luck.
A definite winner with kids.
This book is about the unbelievable crash of LANSA flight 508 outbound from Lima, Peru in 1970. Mid flight it encountered a severe storm. Lightning struck and severed the wings. Several seats were ripped out of the plane and plunged over half a mile into the Amazon rainforest. One passenger, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke, was the lone survivor. As if surviving the fall wasn't enough, Juliane still had to find her way out of the forest. Her one glimmer of luck was her childhood. Both of her parents were biologists who spent years in the rainforest studying the rare plants and animals. Juliane was by their side through it all. She walked for over a week and a half with infected wounds, dodging the dangers she knew existed all around. Eventually, she was found, again by luck.
A definite winner with kids.
June 13, 2019
Find my full review here: http://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsnon...
LOST IN THE AMAZON is the incredible true story of a plane crash survivor who survived in the Amazon rainforest for 11 days. With a narrative style of writing, we experience the struggle and dangers of the rainforest along with Juliane Koepcke, a seventeen-year-old girl. With various other stories of survival in the rainforest combined in small vignettes throughout, the fear and dangers of the rainforest survival really come to life.
The book follows the flight from the take-off, giving a few tastes of some of the other passengers who did not survive, through to her journey and fight for survival until rescue and then at the end of her future endeavors and the changes to the rainforest in that time.
A harrowing tale, this book is easily digestible for the middle grade audience. Adding to the narrative writing style are pictures throughout of animals, people, and rainforest flora that add to the descriptive text. The dangerous fight for her life really comes alive in this book.
What I loved: The story follows various aspects of the journey and sets the stage for what it is like to be alone in the rainforest really well, including accounts from others who survived lost there (such as the sounds of the animals and the fruits far out of reach). The images throughout really add to the understanding and experience. Additionally, the steps that Juliane took which helped to ensure her survival are also explained and give a taste of how you might also survive in such a situation (for instance, following the river, even though it is windy).
Final verdict: This is an engaging and well written non-fiction book that brings 17-year-old Juliane’s harrowing experience to life. I would recommend for anyone who enjoys thrillers and survival stories, across ages. This works well for younger audiences who will get into the narrative style and well-explained terms and engages even older readers in this incredible tale of survival.
LOST IN THE AMAZON is the incredible true story of a plane crash survivor who survived in the Amazon rainforest for 11 days. With a narrative style of writing, we experience the struggle and dangers of the rainforest along with Juliane Koepcke, a seventeen-year-old girl. With various other stories of survival in the rainforest combined in small vignettes throughout, the fear and dangers of the rainforest survival really come to life.
The book follows the flight from the take-off, giving a few tastes of some of the other passengers who did not survive, through to her journey and fight for survival until rescue and then at the end of her future endeavors and the changes to the rainforest in that time.
A harrowing tale, this book is easily digestible for the middle grade audience. Adding to the narrative writing style are pictures throughout of animals, people, and rainforest flora that add to the descriptive text. The dangerous fight for her life really comes alive in this book.
What I loved: The story follows various aspects of the journey and sets the stage for what it is like to be alone in the rainforest really well, including accounts from others who survived lost there (such as the sounds of the animals and the fruits far out of reach). The images throughout really add to the understanding and experience. Additionally, the steps that Juliane took which helped to ensure her survival are also explained and give a taste of how you might also survive in such a situation (for instance, following the river, even though it is windy).
Final verdict: This is an engaging and well written non-fiction book that brings 17-year-old Juliane’s harrowing experience to life. I would recommend for anyone who enjoys thrillers and survival stories, across ages. This works well for younger audiences who will get into the narrative style and well-explained terms and engages even older readers in this incredible tale of survival.
December 15, 2020
The true story of how a teenage girl, Juliane Koepcke, survived an airplane coming apart in the air over the Amazon and then made it through the jungle to human rescue.
This is a crazy true story. The fact that Juliane survived the fall, let alone the jungle is astounding. Of course, not many other teenagers, or adults for that matter, would have had the background knowledge that Juliane did. Her parents were both scientists studying creatures in the Amazon, and she had experience getting around and surviving in the jungle. Without the background she had, I don't think she'd have survived her days in the jungle. The author actually makes this point too with the stories of other explorers through the years who didn't make it through the Amazon jungle or who had super rough experiences. Ever since I read Lost City of Z I was pretty convinced I didn't want to ever experience the bugs and parasites of the Amazon, and everything I've read about the Amazon since just cements that feeling. I enjoy reading about it, but I am totally fine never experiencing that kind of thing in real life. Highly recommended to those who like true survival stories. Though this is aimed at middle graders, it is sophisticated enough in writing and content that teens and adults will likely enjoy this too.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. The fact that 91 others died in the place crash is very real and Juliane actually stumbled across some of the bodies. Recovery of the rest is talked about too. Juliane suffered some serious lacerations and other injuries and they are somewhat described, including how they get infected with parasites.
This is a crazy true story. The fact that Juliane survived the fall, let alone the jungle is astounding. Of course, not many other teenagers, or adults for that matter, would have had the background knowledge that Juliane did. Her parents were both scientists studying creatures in the Amazon, and she had experience getting around and surviving in the jungle. Without the background she had, I don't think she'd have survived her days in the jungle. The author actually makes this point too with the stories of other explorers through the years who didn't make it through the Amazon jungle or who had super rough experiences. Ever since I read Lost City of Z I was pretty convinced I didn't want to ever experience the bugs and parasites of the Amazon, and everything I've read about the Amazon since just cements that feeling. I enjoy reading about it, but I am totally fine never experiencing that kind of thing in real life. Highly recommended to those who like true survival stories. Though this is aimed at middle graders, it is sophisticated enough in writing and content that teens and adults will likely enjoy this too.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. The fact that 91 others died in the place crash is very real and Juliane actually stumbled across some of the bodies. Recovery of the rest is talked about too. Juliane suffered some serious lacerations and other injuries and they are somewhat described, including how they get infected with parasites.
May 17, 2025
This YA Novel generously illustrated with photography and drawings/artwork from the Conquistador and later explorers from western cultures into the Amazon region of Peru is highly commendable! Author Tod Olson has assembled a kid/youth-friendly narrative without personally meeting the person he is profiling at the points of life when she came closest to starvation, disease, even death. He maintains 3rd person objectivity and includes here an explanatory Author's Note explaining how it is resembling a scrapbook without help from Juliane Kopecke herself. The chapters are at times excruciating but also vivid and never morose nor R-rated. Those in early teens / tweens might attempt to read and comprehend the seemingly hopeless plight of the teenage German-national daughter of zoologist-scientist parents. Also at the books final pages are a helpful "Glossary" and a quite long list of journalistic accounts (especially DER_STERN article) and National_Geographic articles and Juliane's first-person account When_I_Fell. He was given help by Wings of Hope aviators and others in Peru who knew aspects of the courage and daring recovery following the plane crash and deaths of all passengers and crew. I rate this 5* out of 5; a quick read for adults of all kinds who are ecology and climate-change aware. God bless you Mr. Olson and I pray for Juliane Kopecke herself and her impact on the world entirely and on Peru specifically.
June 2, 2022
At some point that I can't remember during the past two years, I ran into a reference to a story about a girl falling out of an airplane over the Amazon and surviving. As someone who enjoys amazing stories of ordinary people, this intrigued me enough to look up the story where I discovered there was a book called, The Girl Who Fell Out of the Sky. I put it on my to-read list, but I hadn't had a chance to read it yet.
Then, randomly, my middle school age son found this book at the school book fair and wanted us to read it as a family read aloud book since it was a true story. It is the same story of Juliane Koepecke that had intrigued me before. This is the YA version, but still a very good book and a very amazing story of survival.
It is truly hard to imagine what Juliane went through as a young 17 year old woman to survive a plane crash and get through an uninhabited area of the Amazon where many people had not made it back from before her experience there. Just an incredible story and hard to explain without giving away the whole drama of the story. Definitely read this book or the adult version!
Then, randomly, my middle school age son found this book at the school book fair and wanted us to read it as a family read aloud book since it was a true story. It is the same story of Juliane Koepecke that had intrigued me before. This is the YA version, but still a very good book and a very amazing story of survival.
It is truly hard to imagine what Juliane went through as a young 17 year old woman to survive a plane crash and get through an uninhabited area of the Amazon where many people had not made it back from before her experience there. Just an incredible story and hard to explain without giving away the whole drama of the story. Definitely read this book or the adult version!
February 3, 2023
Recommended by my 13-year-old son. This is the extraordinary true story of Juliane Koepcke, who survived falling from a commercial airliner into the Amazon jungle, after it was hit by lightning. Even though it's a middle grades book, I was captivated.
Having grown up at a research station in the Amazon (both her parents were German zoologists), Juliane knew the real versus the perceived dangers of the jungle, which was crucial to her survival.
The only thing I didn't care for was when Tod Olson veered off from Juliane's story into the history of the Amazon and climate change. It could have been useful information, but he took such a one-sided, simplistic, agenda-driven approach that it was vexing. For instance: indigenous people=good, European explorers=bad.
"Unless some unseen force had slowed her on the way down, she had plummeted into the treetops at 120 miles an hour. The lianas, along with the tree branches in the canopy, must have acted like a rough-hewn net."
Having grown up at a research station in the Amazon (both her parents were German zoologists), Juliane knew the real versus the perceived dangers of the jungle, which was crucial to her survival.
The only thing I didn't care for was when Tod Olson veered off from Juliane's story into the history of the Amazon and climate change. It could have been useful information, but he took such a one-sided, simplistic, agenda-driven approach that it was vexing. For instance: indigenous people=good, European explorers=bad.
"Unless some unseen force had slowed her on the way down, she had plummeted into the treetops at 120 miles an hour. The lianas, along with the tree branches in the canopy, must have acted like a rough-hewn net."
March 10, 2020
Lost in the amazon is a book based on a 17 teen year old girl Juliane Koepcke. It was supposed to be a routine flight carrying 86 passengers over the Andres Mountains home for the holidays. But high above the amazon a rolling storm hits. Lighting strikes the plane and the plane crashes down to the amazon. Everyone is dead except for Juliane. She was injured but miraculously alive. she got worried because she heard'' these species can poison a human to death''. She got attacked by a snake while trying to find food.She will have to find a way to live and figure out if she will ever see her family home.
I like this book because it shows that you don’t need materialistic things to be happy in life. It also shows to also always look in the positives and not the negatives.
A type of reader who would enjoy the this book is a person who like to go on a adventure and likes to imagine like they are in the book. Overall I like this book and hope you like it too.
I like this book because it shows that you don’t need materialistic things to be happy in life. It also shows to also always look in the positives and not the negatives.
A type of reader who would enjoy the this book is a person who like to go on a adventure and likes to imagine like they are in the book. Overall I like this book and hope you like it too.
June 2, 2018
A quick flight across the Andes Mountains with a plane full of passengers trying to get home for Christmas turns into disaster. This true story of flight 508 Dec. 24th, 1970 details the remarkable survival of 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke. The daughter of German zoologists, Juliane had grown up in the rain forests of Peru. When she wakes up alone, still strapped into her plane seat, she has to use all of her knowledge of the jungle to stay alive till the rescue groups can find her. If they can find her.
This non-fiction narrative will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next even when you know that Juliane survives. The addition of actual photos and maps makes it even more fascinating.
Perfect for ages 12 and up. Fans of the "I Survived" series will love this step up into a higher reading level.
This non-fiction narrative will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next even when you know that Juliane survives. The addition of actual photos and maps makes it even more fascinating.
Perfect for ages 12 and up. Fans of the "I Survived" series will love this step up into a higher reading level.
July 20, 2020
When I first added this book to my TBR, I only briefly glanced at the description and thought it was a fictitious story, but it was not at all. 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke really did survive falling 3,500 feet in a plane crash and eleven days alone in the Amazon rainforest. This was a fascinating story that I devoured in less than two hours. Even though Olson did not speak directly to Koepke while he was writing this book, he took such care in researching her story and speaking to others who were involved in the search and rescue efforts so that he could tell the truest tale possible. With his words, Olson showed the beauty of the Amazon while also detailing the great dangers of someone being lost in the middle of it without sustenance or shelter, and he captures Koepke's adoration for the region and her early life spent exploring the rainforest.
December 10, 2023
This story inspires you that even in your hardest hours of your life you should never lose your hope. In this story you can see that 17 year old girl is lost in the world's largest rainforest of Amazon and how she survive there for 2 weeks . In this story we learn many facts about how can we survive in a rainforest atleast for 10 days and many more facts about rainforest and it's unique animal spieces
October 30, 2018
The book was okay it was somewhat hard to understand. Its about a plane that crashes in the middle of a forest on Christmas eve in 1970. She wakes up on Christmas day She is injured and hurting very bad. There were some really difficult challenges for Juliane Koepcke. She is fighting very hard to survive. Read this book to find out more.
November 12, 2018
This book is based upon the unbelievable story of a young woman who survived a plane crash and 11 days alone in the Amazon. Intermixed within the story we learn many interesting things about the history and life of the forest. Interesting historical fiction book for grades 3-7.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Genre: Historical Fiction
May 13, 2018
We read this in our 4th and 5th grade book club. I loved it! It was very similar to I survived with more details and challenging vocabulary. It didn’t take us long to finish either. The kids enjoyed learning about this true event that happened.
June 21, 2019
It’s a quick read, but an interesting true story about an incredible event. I liked the pictures included, but I did feel some were oddly placed and reading the captions briefly threw off the flow of the story. I liked having a mix of some of the history of the Amazon intermingled with the story.
March 4, 2021
This story captivated me way back in the day as a Reader's Digest condensed story. It was a jaw-dropping story of survival. This book takes that story and dusts off the hype, adding a true, in-depth layer of understanding the Amazon. Great story, great facts, amazing context.
March 28, 2021
Looooved this. Love survival stories and this woman is friggin amazing. My skin was crawling and my jaw was dropping throughout. Can’t wait to read her book now, “When I fell from the sky” Another read with my class. A quick intense read.
April 11, 2024
This was a great read. I've read two other books from this series, and I have enjoyed the well-researched story-telling. This one tells, nit only Julianne's story of survival, but also the story of the search and rescue attempts and some of the other passengers on the ill-fated plane.
June 18, 2025
This showcases one girl's perseverance in her fight to survive. It was good she was somewhat experienced in the area and had knowledge of her surroundings, which helped her to keep her wits and not give in to panic.
April 24, 2018
Solid non-fiction, with primary source images and maps.
November 2, 2018
The book was well written, and I always wanted to read more. Also the way he wrote it let you almost feel the solitude.
March 31, 2019
The main plot was well written and interesting,but the story dragged on at the end.
June 15, 2019
Excellent children's version of true events of a girl's survival after the plane she is on crashes in the Amazon jungle.
February 28, 2020
Cool story, lot of un-needed info in the book about the history of the forest, but the story she had to tell was very interesting.
May 15, 2020
My 9 year old and I read it together, and we really liked it :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews