jungle of bones by ben mikaelsen [paperback]

by Ben Mikaelsen

Lost and alone in the jungle, one boy will have to let go of his assumptions and anger, or be dragged down with them. Dylan Barstow has finally crossed the line. After getting caught on a late-night joyride in a stolen car, Dylan is shipped off to live with his ex-Marine uncle for the summer. But Uncle Todd has bigger plans for Dylan than push-ups and early-morning jogs. Deep in the steamy jungles of Papua New Guinea, there's a WWII fighter plane named SECOND ACE that's been lost for years, a plane that Dylan's own grandfather barely escaped from with his life. In all this time, no one has ever been able to track down SECOND ACE -- but now Dylan and his uncle are going to try. Lush and haunted, vital and deadly, these alien jungles half a world away could mean Dylan's salvation, or they could swallow him whole.

Genres: Adventure, Survival, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Coming Of Age

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2014

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always looking for new adventure books for my middle school library...this one was just okay. It starts slow; we don't even get to the jungle and survival elements until half-way through the story. Much of the first part is telling, telling, telling--with very little showing. I worry my students will get bored and quite before the good stuff starts.

Also...Dylan is SO unlikable. I know that it is intentional--we need to see him learn and grow and become redeemable throughout his survival ordeal--but, ugh. He's got lots of anger that stems from the death of his father, but he is SUCH a brat. As someone who has lost her father, I feel bad saying that, but that's the only word that describes him. As a middle school teacher I've seen this before, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Sometimes I almost didn't care enough about him to worry about him being "redeemed" or not.

[Mrs. Strudthoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ben Mikaelsen's books (Spirit Bear is one of my favorites) so I couldn't wait to read this one. I was not disappointed.

Dylan Barstow has messed up one too many times and his mom has had enough. She calls his Uncle Todd to come and get him for the summer. She hopes that a summer with a man (Dylan's dad was killed in Iraq) will help to straighten him out before Dylan ends up in jail.

Dylan has no desire to spend time with his uncle particularly when he finds out that they are going to fly to Papua New Guinea to search for a lost World War II bomber. Before they leave, Uncle Todd puts him through some tough physical training and lays down some tough rules. Up until the time they board the plane, Dylan tries to plan an escape but ends up in the deep jungle of Papua New Guinea anyway. As is Dylan's habit, he does not listen to directions and ignores the safety precautions and ends up getting lost in the jungle with no tools or food.

Fantastic adventure/survival story! If you liked Mikaelsen's other books, Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, or Will Hobbs novels, you'll love this one!

[C.J. Milbrandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dylan makes trouble because he can. Small stuff, stupid stuff, angry stuff. But then he commits a felony, and his mom calls in her brother to help. Uncle Todd, a former marine, is more than capable of handling Dylan's poor choices. And promptly adds his nephew to his team. They're headed to Papua New Guinea to search for a plane downed in WWII.

Joy rides and jungle heat. Malaria pills and making camp. Old wrecks and strange dreams. Forgotten heroes and war stories. Dylan is a frustrating POV character because it's one bad choice after another. And the deeper in trouble he gets, the more he blames everyone else for the fall-out. Uncle Todd has more patience than I would. Some people have to learn things the hard way, and Dylan does eventually come around. Worthwhile.

Especially good if you're looking for stories about WWII and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Mikaelson has created another great story with lots of adventure and mystery. Our main character Dylan is best known as a troublemaker. He has messed up one two many times and his mother sends him to live with his ex-Marine Uncle Toddd for the summer. Dylan's mother is hoping doing this will straighten him out.
Dylan doesn't want to spend any time with Uncle Todd, especially when he finds out they will be going to Papua New Guinea to search for a lost World War 2 bomber plane. Before they embark on their adventure, Uncle Todd puts Dylan through tough physical training and lays down ground rules. Dylan tries to plan an escape and ends up stranded in the jungle of New Guinea anyway. We again see Dylan's tendencies to not follow rules here. Ben Mikaelson does a great job of developing the characters, especially Dylan in this story. He shows what it might be like to be stranded in the jungle as a kid and how you would survive. This book is a great read for someone who is looking for an adventure and survival story.
This is a great survival adventure story with lots of interesting plots. Will Dylan find his uncle? Will he make it out of the jungle alive?

[Serina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here is a bratty boy who is a juvenile delinquent so his mom sends him to stay the summer with his uncle. I liked the strong male influence of his uncle who took no crap. His uncle is a positive role model who makes Dylan use his mind. Unfortunately even though Dylan has reasons for not listening to authority figure, it's not elaborated on enough to make him a sympathetic character. (Its literally one paragraph) Some of the things that he does also are just plain stupid, such as not taking pills that prevent malaria which can kill you. However I realize that something is seriously wrong with me, because when he got lost, I had to laugh. It was so predictable. Then even though he is lost and he quickly learns that everything people have said was correct .......he stilllllllll continues to not listen! He gets saved and he stilllllllllllll has an attitude and blames others! I don't know, maybe this was done to show how hard it is for people to change? I thought some of the best dialogue was the ones with him and his uncle. However once he gets into the jungle it focuses on coping with the environment change and not relationships. It's a jungle out there! I thought it was good at not glorifying war. While he's sick, he hallucinates and puts himself in the position that some of the fighters were in. Which is dramatic and full of tension. Obviously boys and reluctant readers would like it. I honestly don't know, though, if they would be willing to put up the personality of main character? Also it felt like a lecture in many parts, instead of an adventure story. It's a miss for me, sorry.

[Carol Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandson, Finn, who's 13, has been trying to get me to read this book for a year. He and I agree that Touching Spirit Bear is one of the best books we've ever read. So, I pulled this one off my bookshelf (yes, I even had the book already) and I must admit, this was a good recommendation.

I wasn't sold at first, because it seemed written for an audience that was more on the 5th grade side, but it's just that the protagonist, Dylan Barstow, was just incredibly immature and rebellious, making destructive decisions.

This novel has interesting themes related to patriotism, freedom, World War II, Papua, New Guinea, delinquency, grief.

After Dylan commits a felony, Mom sends him to Oregon for Uncle Todd to straighten him out. Uncle Todd has recently found a journal his father, Dylan's grandfather, kept during his WWII service on a B-17 bomber that crashed in Papua, New Guinea. Uncle Todd thinks there is enough information for them to locate the downed bomber. Dylan is going with him. He makes so many stupid, rebellious decisions along the way that he almost kills himself. Dylan has two lessons to learn. 1) The world does not revolve around him. 2) Freedom is never free.

I read this one in one day because I couldn't put it down.

[Phillip Laswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very good and one of my favorite books that I have ever read. This book has the perfect combination of suspense, adventure, and even teaches you a bit about World War 2! The book starts out a little slow in the beginning and may seem a little discouraging to read but trust that this book really picks up and becomes one of those books that once you pick up you don't want to put back down. The Jungle of Bones also places value in readers minds on subjects that might not have been even thought of before. For example this story in a sense revolves around the history and plane crashes of World War 2. It mentions that thousands of planes that have crashed are still uncovered, This also brings the island of Papa New Guinea into the story which many people never even think about. After reading this story I went to go look up more about Papa New Guinea and I'm sure other readers would do the same. A lot of students may be turned away by the thought that this book revolves the World War but I ensure you that its much more than just that and I recommend that everyone read it.

[Hashim Baig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Jungle Of Bones by Ben Mikaelsen is about Dylan Barstow and his stupid actions. He is caught by the police when he steals a car and goes for a joyride. Dylan has crossed the line and is time to be punished. Dylan's mom sent Dylan to Salem, Oregon to go to his Uncle Todd who was an ex-marine, to get his acts right. When he is in Oregon, he was given pills from his Uncle so he wouldn't get Malaria in the jungle. Uncle Todd had given many specific instructions to stay together and as you know, Dylan gets lost. He didn't have the pills for a while so he ended up getting Malaria. After a long time he was found by a girl named Kanzi. Kanzi seemed to like him but Dylan thought she looked weird, so he used her to find his uncle. He eventually found his uncle and was rushed to the hospital and after that he was taken home. I think this book was good but if it had a better ending, might would of been a bit better.

[Lonna Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Mikaelson's latest adventure ("Touching Spirit Bear" is his gold standard.)is a great read aloud for angry tweens & teen males with a chip on their shoulder. Self-absorbed, sullen Dylan Barstow resents his dad for being on assignment as a journalist and dying as he reported on the genocide in Darfur in the Sudan. Mom is at her wits end and Dylan's latest thoughtless joy ride and jail stint makes her decide to send him to his ex-Marine uncle for the summer. They take a daunting journey to Papua, New Guinea, to search for his grandfather's war plane, which crash-landed during WW II in the jungle. Ever the screw-up, Dylan gets lost & is totally unprepared for the forbidding environment, and nearly dies in a struggle for survival and meaning in his life.

[Baustman · Rating 4 out of 5]

JUNGLE OF BONES by Ben Mikaelsen is a young-adult novel that explores the maturation of Dylan, an eighth grader whose life seems destined for nothing but trouble. His father is dead, and his mother has reached the end of her rope. In desperation, she sends Dylan with his Uncle Todd on an expedition to Papua-New Guinea to search for the remains of a wrecked World War II bomber. A great, dangerous, humbling adventure ensues in the South Pacific jungles! The novel is exciting despite the annoying nature of Dylan's character, the jungle scenes are excellently researched, and the conclusion is satisfying. I have also read Mikaelsen's SPARROW HAWK RED. This latest book is not quite so well-structured, but it should appeal to fans of teen troubles and survival fiction.

[Kait · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like adventure/survival stories, and I like coming of age stories and Jungle Bones is all of that! I enjoyed the overall plot of a troublemaker kid being dragged on a jungle expedition to help vent some of his misplaced anger and then getting lost in said jungle. The book however fell short when it came to the character development. It felt as if the writer was banging the reader over the head about respectfulness, and self-centeredness to the point that I was resenting listening to the speeches along with the main character. Overall the character development was not organic and sounded like a parroted version of the Uncle. The book was also written in a voice that sounded way to young for a 13/14 year old. I loved the idea of this book but wished it had better execution.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boy adventure books are hard to come by, and good ones even moreso. This is more of a survival adventure tales that doesn't spend nearly enough time on the adventure portions in favor of trying to establish our protagonist as a problem kid.

The book certainly has a lot of appeal for male reluctant readers who are far too ignored in the current landscape, but as a quality title for someone who enjoys reading already, there is a lot out there that's better.

[Syed Absar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jungle of Bones
Ben Mikaelsen

This book is about Dillon and his uncle Todd. This story took place in Los Angeles California, and in Salem Oregon. The main character looks like a boy who did not care about his life.The character always says whatever, so that tells me he doesen't really care what is going. This book is a really good book, and i reccomend reading it

[Landon Schofield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book about a boy who is getting in a lot of trouble. The book starts out with the boy steeling a car and spinning cookies with it. As a result the boy's mother sends him to live with his uncle. his uncle starts with making him run every morning. Then the boy and his uncle and several other people go looking for a war ship that had been downed several years before.

[Mari Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat mediocre MG adventure novel that focused more on the juvenile attitude of the lead character than on the adventure itself. More show than tell left me feeling just so so on this one. Probably best for grades 6-8.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I had to read this for school, and it didn't look that good but once I read it, it was surprisingly good. I like how Dylan changed a lot through the book. I liked how the author described Dylan's surroundings. Overall a good short read!

[Ian G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Read it brad.

[Whitney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written, the storyline is OK, but the characters lack depth.

[Cody Kutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jungle of Bones Review
By: Cody Kutz

It is about a boy who got in a lot of trouble in Wisconsin like stealing a car from a junkyard and doing burnouts in a cornfield right next to it and then the cops came and then he went to jail for 1 day and then his mom bailed him out. Then the next day she told him how he would be going with his uncle todd in Seattle and then you are going Papua new guinea to try finding the plane that his grandpa crashed in. That Dylan is a self-centered kid who thinks that the world revolves around him and people must do what he tells them to do. When they go to Papua new guinea and then they go on an adventure and Dylan gets lost because he was to listen to music and then he fell apart from the ground and then needed to fight for himself with a little assistant.
Yeah because whenever I was little I would run off and then I would get scared because I didn’t know where they went except when it happened to me it wasn’t live thearting. That it is like when I go on a hiking trail and you can’t see anything because of how thick the undergrowth is and it is also crazy on how tall the trees are and slender they are and they look like they are going to fall right on you. That whenever a person goes losing and then they just find them in the woods and they are starving and also they are very dehydrated and they normally get save in the nick of time. That it is like the old man and the sea because they were both fighting for their lives and they both barely made there in time and the only difference in that the jungle of bones is in a forest, and that the old man and the sea it takes place in the ocean.
That my favorite part when Dylan got lost from the group and then he realized the world doesn’t revolve around him and that if he died he would just become part of the jungle with all the other people that died there from war and all the plant and animals that died there too. That he did really good at describing what was happening at the moment, but he could of put more thought in it and made it bigger and more descriptive. I would recommend it to people that want a story that is all about adventure and survival because in the book Dylan has a couple of experiences were a normal person would die but he gets help just in the right amount of time where his life is spared and he survives.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally got this book a few years ago and decided to reread it to refresh my memory on its interesting story. The book's story is relatively simple in terms of story elements but it has an interesting story element that makes the reader question the events that have occurred through the book. The book has a pretty average story of a misbehaving adolescent kid that goes through some type of traumatic experience and is changed for the better by that event. I personally think that although the story is simple, it is executed well, and has some flair to it that keeps the reader entertained.

A very important element of this book that drives the story is the use of character development. The book is based on the use of character development and puts the protagonist named Dylan through events that change him. When he starts out in the story he is arrogant, entitled, and doesn’t care about much. But at the end of the book, he realizes that he made many mistakes and changes his outlook on life for the better.

This book is a good read for those people who want a story that sees a character grow and change. It is also a good book if you want an interesting story that grabs the reader into its atmosphere while staying interesting throughout the read. Young teens around 12 to 15 are the best readers for this book mainly because of its lighter subject matter and short length.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Jungle of Bones by Ben Mikaelsen was a great survival and adventure book. The main character, Dylan Barstow, has gone too far. One night he decides to on a late night joy ride in a newly plowed field with a stolen vehicle that someone left their key in. For his punishment his mother sends him off for the whole summer to his uncle's house. His uncle, however, is an ex-marine and doesn't just plan on putting Dylan to work. Dylan's uncle wants to go to the jungles of Papua New Guinea, to find a WWII fighter jet called the SECOND. This plane has been lost for years and it is the same one that Dylan's own grandfather escaped from. Ever since it crashed sixty years ago nobody has been able to find in the the jungle. Will Dylan survive the jungles with man-eating creatures and poisonous plants and find the plane or will he just leave without seeing the plane and getting nearly eaten alive?

If you like adventure books you will probably like this book.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sort of scared straight approach to a boy that is defiant and angry. Dylan Barstow is angry at his father for dying and defies his mom at everything. Steals a car and gets sent to live with his uncle Todd for the summer. Todd is heading out on his own quest to find his father’s B-17 bomber that crashed landed in Papau New Guinea, and makes Dylan go with him. Dylan wants no part of the adventure and defies his uncle during most of the preparations. I read it in one day, I am not sure if the part of Frank really helped move the plot along and Todd and Dylan’s relationship was at times a bit stilted.

[Margaret Menkus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this author as he really knows how to write about the struggles of being a teenager. While he tends to write about boys, I think this book would appeal to any gender because of the action and adventure in his settings. This story tells us about the 'Justice Circle' - an alternative to jail for juveniles who are being tried as an adult. With the support of community, and some well meaning men who walked down the same hard road, this young man discovers the true meaning of life. You can't help but be moved by this story.

[Darya Kowalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dylan has an attitude a mile long. An attitude that developed after his dad died. He gets into trouble one time too many and he commits a felony. So self-absorbed, Dylan figures his mom will bail him out of trouble again. Wrong! This time, his beleaguered mother brings in his uncle to spend the summer with. His uncle, ex-marine, has no patience for spoiled kids with attitude and prepares Dylan for a trip to PNG (Papua New Guinea) to track down an old bomber his grandfather few in WWII.

Definitely a great adventure waiting to be read.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read this for my son's middle school parent/teen book group. He LOVED it. Then he loved it even more after Ben Mikaelsen came to the school to discuss the book and to talk to the kids about himself. He has had a life full of hardship and adventure for sure.

I liked the book just fine. I didn't love it but can appreciate that it has some good lessons to teach and is a good book for tweens.

Parents: Nothing objectionable. Unless you or your kid is terrified of things that live in the jungle. :)

[EC McKinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so interesting! I loved everything about it, I do wish that the intro of the book was a little faster but that’s just what I like. I got this book from the library not knowing it would effect me this book was a great realistic, action book there were some mysteries. Overall I would rate this book a 5/5 and if you are a sucker for mysteries and actions then this would be the best book you could ever possibly find and read!!

[Jarred Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the boy in this book needed a event like this one to happen in his life to change the way he acted around others. The boy in this book is a stuck up kid that got whatever he wanted, which spoiled him over the years and made him act like he was better than everyone else. After Dylan has his little event happen in the forest his life and his attitude changes to a whole new person.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dylan, a typical Mikaelsen character, is filled with anger. He does what he wants when he wants until his mom has had enough! Enter Uncle Todd, his ex-military uncle, who takes him on the adventure of a lifetime. As Dylan unwillingly embraces this adventure, he learns just how brutal war can be and the meaning behind the saying, "Freedom is never free."

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dylan knows it all and doesn't need anyone's help for anything. This attitude compounded by his anger over the loss of his father, gets him into trouble every time. His mother has finally had enough. She recruits Dylan's uncle to take Dylan for the summer. Dylan needs to change his ways or the jungle of Papua New Guinea will eat him alive.

[Sean Dalere · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about Dylan.Dylan's family shift him to his ex-marine uncle Todd because Dylan did some bad things that is why his family shipped him to his uncle.Then his uncle wants Dylan to go with him to the jungle of New Guinea to find a plane from WW2 Second Ace.None find this plane because of the jungle is really terrifying.This book is really good because it's an adventure book.