Danger on Midnight River

World of Adventure #7

by Gary Paulsen, Steve Chorney (Illustrator)

Slow-learner Daniel Martin escapes his peers' teasing by spending most of his time outdoors. But when a van crash plunges him and a gang of bullies in the river, Daniel must choose between saving himself and risking his life to save the others. The tables are turned when Daniel, always the joke, becomes the hero and the only one who can save his classmates from the perilious rapids of the rivers.

Genres: Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Kids

80 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1995

About the author

Gary James Paulsen was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best known for coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens.

Reviews

[Chantal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful adventure described by Gary Paulsen. He remains a master of survival children's books. I have already read several of his books. For filling a nice afternoon with reading. You will soon feel like a child again!

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's pretty good variety of action in Gary Paulsen's World of Adventure series, but Danger on Midnight River returns to the author's survivalist roots. Thirteen year-old Daniel Martin and his mother don't live in luxury, so she's proud to be able to scrounge enough money from her waitress job to send him to Camp Eagle Nest. Summers with his Uncle Smitty in the Rocky Mountains have taught Daniel about outdoor living, and he looks forward to getting away from conventional society at camp.

Accompanying Daniel on the bus to camp are Scotty Howard—who regularly devotes time at school to harassing and insulting Daniel—and Scotty's pals Troy Dennis and Brandon March. At least Brandon isn't as bad as the other two, but nothing can prepare any of them for the incident ahead. Getting lost in the dark on the way to camp, the bus driver plows through a bridge railing and into the frigid Midnight River. Daniel marshals his survival skills to get himself, Scotty, Troy, and Brandon out alive, but stranded in the wilderness with no way to call for help, how long can they last?

Waiting for a search party isn't a good option; they need to seek rescue. Even Scotty has grudgingly accepted that Daniel is the only one with the knowledge and abilities to save them, but it's still hard to convince him to follow Daniel. A severe injury among their ranks quells most of Scotty's rebellious response, but survival remains in doubt. Will there be a hero...or a quartet of tragic deaths?

Danger on Midnight River is standard fare for this series, or the juvenile survival genre. It gives young readers something to shoot for: becoming self-reliant like Daniel, capable of emerging from a traumatic scenario not just alive, but better than before. When you have the skills and initiative to improve your situation, you'll be happier than if you let circumstances make you a helpless victim, and this is just as true for kids as adults. The book could stand to be longer and more detailed, but given its size, you could do worse than Danger on Midnight River.

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh gosh, okay. I've been going through a...not really a Gary Paulsen phase, but a childhood-rereads phase, and I read this in the Gary Paulsen phase of my childhood-rereads phase. I think we must have owned a copy of this book—I know I read it multiple times, and some parts (eating pine cones warmed by a fire) I remembered pretty clearly.

Spoilers ahead. But also, the book is 30 years old, so chances are good that if you're on this page you too have read the book before.

As a kids' book I still think this is pretty great. It's lively, and it's a story where not only does the underdog prove his worth, but the bullies voluntarily (eventually) come to their senses. Plus, you never know; maybe one of these days I'll get lost on a mountain and survive by eating pine cones, and I'll have this book to thank for it.

But I reread it as an adult. And with an adult's eyes, I have some questions. Like: When Daniel crawls out of the van, he doesn't think for a second about the other boys? He gets to the bank and starts a fire and starts to dry out his clothes...and only gives the others (dead or alive) a second thought when he hears voices. (And even then he takes the time to build up his fire before going to check it out.) Granted, Daniel owes the other boys nothing (they've been consistently terrible to him), but my gosh.

The number of perils these kids face is wild. In addition to their van crashing and the driver dying (Paulsen really liked to kill off the adults, didn't he?), one of the boys is trapped and almost drowns. The boys split up (TERRIBLE DECISION, CHILDREN; LEARN FROM THIS), and the three of them who are not Daniel immediately get lost, get sprayed by a skunk, and spend a miserable night in the rain...and then one of them falls off a cliff and breaks his leg. Daniel shows up just in time to save the day, of course, and performs a heroic and improbable rescue with some belts. (I've read my fair share of wilderness rescue memoir, and I rather suspect that a real-life version of this would have the injured kid screaming quite a bit more rather than just the occasional wince.) And if that's not enough, there's still a rabid dog and another near-drowning to keep the boys on their toes.

Again, this is a kids' book. The fact pace makes a certain amount of sense, and you can do away with occasional logic. But as an adult I'm bad at doing away with logic (well, except when I'm very good at doing away with logic, but this is not one of those times), so here we are. When Daniel insists that they boil their water before drinking it, how? Like, sensible, I'm not complaining, but... Earlier in the book we see that he's found "a large rock with a hollowed-out center", and somehow if there's a small fire nearby this will boil (would love to test this in real life—can you boil water by just putting it next to a fire, not above one? How big a fire is required to boil how much water?). But that was ages ago in the book, and even if they found that rock again (he hasn't been lugging it around), how did they move enough water from the river to the rock that they could drink boiled water "until they thought they would burst"?

I miss being a kid and not questioning these things.

I will note that earlier in the book Daniel suggests that they have three options—stay put and light a signal fire, try to continue on the road they were going on, or try to cross the river again and go back the way they came. The other three boys want to continue on the unknown road, and Daniel wants to go back the way they came. And I just don't know what to make of this. Daniel estimates that they went maybe a hundred miles in the wrong direction and took random turns along the way, so I can't possibly imagine that he thinks they'll happen upon the right turns and so on. I suppose he's hoping they'll get onto a bigger road and run into someone. But I can't help but think that the smarter thing to do would be to start with a signal fire—Daniel's proven himself perfectly capable of starting that fire and keeping all four boys fed and watered, and they'd have a lot fewer chances to fall off cliffs and almost drown if they just stayed put and built a smoky fire.

Oh well. It was fun, anyway. Ooh, one of these days I'll have to find that Sweet Valley High book where there's an earthquake and Jessica tries (and fails) to use her belt to rescue someone who's fallen down a chasm in the earth...

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it to my 4th graders. They were hooked!

[Tanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real page-turner and fast-paced adventure in classical Gary Paulsen manner. It is accessible also to young readers still developing their skills and stamina as it is a slim volume. A young boy, sent to summer camp by his mother is suddenly thrown into terrible danger. Out in the wilderness, it is up to him, the outsider and underdog, to save himself and everyone else. I know my primary students will love this - always makes me happy when I find a real adventure story for younger readers.

[Zach Costello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good book filled with action. A group of kids get in a crash and go into a river and have to try and find their way home. Only one kid knows how to survive and what to do in the wilderness. The other three are bullies to him in school. Can they all get along and find their way back home? This book is for kids who like adventure and the outdoors.

[Austin.t · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving this book 4 stars because it is a great lesson on showing team work. I think that this is the best adventurous book for kids. This is my favorite book I’ve read this year. I know kids will love it. If you like adventurous books this is the one to get.

[Sam Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book has plenty of action and adventure, it was simply too short for me to rate it four or five stars. The events happened rapidly, which makes it a real page turner. I think it would appeal mostly to fifth grade boys, as there really weren't any female characters (minus a short scene with a mother). Gary Paulsen writes with a rich vocabulary in this short book including words such as limply, feeble, sheepish, forbidding, bewildered, and many more! Although short, this book has potential for teaching some sequencing skills as events happen quickly and often. There are also some lessons that can be taught about how characters change. The main character, Daniel, goes through a transformation in how he views himself. In the beginning he feels he's dumb and not able to stand up for himself. By the end, he uses his survival skills to become a confident leader which leads to everyone surviving Midnight River.

[Library ORS · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really action packed but it felt a little unfinished to me. Almost like the entire outline was there and all the exciting parts that he wanted to happen and then he didn't add any of the beef, the character development that is in his other books wasn't there, and it was missing a lot of the description that is usually there as well. However I am an adult reading this book geared to a younger audience and I do think that the audience it is intended for will appreciate this book more than I did. I would say more Grade 3-4 younger even depending on their reading level. May be a good book for some older reluctant readers as well.

[Noelle Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Well at least I was the hero for a little while. I should have known these guys didn’t really want me around.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is an action adventure chapter book.

When the summer camp van goes off the road into a river Daniel uses his survival skills to help him and a couple of boys who bully him survive and get rescued.

This is a mother cute fast chapter book in the Gary Paulsen World of Adventure Series.

[Deborah Dempsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adventure story about a boy that usually feels like an outsider, and how he helps some other boys out in a life and death situation and earns their respect. My 11 year old really enjoyed reading about survival skills in the wilderness and it was short enough and had plenty of action to keep him interested.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember liking other Paulsen books a lot more. This one was cute, but it lacked details that would have made it more plausible.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. I wanted more mystery but besides that it was good. The boys mother was very hard working. And the father wasnt around but the book was good.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gary Paulsen is awesome at telling short, fun, exciting and meaningful stories. I loved this one.

[Andrew Cumaranatunge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave it 5 stars because it taught me to help people. Don’t judge a book by its’ cover.

[Jodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lonely thirteen year old named Daniel is sent to camp by his single mom. On the way, they crash into a trecherous river and Daniel uses his resourcefulness and survival instincts to keep one step ahead of the elements. A middle grade story of friendship that comes out of an unexpected situation.

[Orlando Godinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will make your mind blow up.The genre of this book is adventure.I think this is such a amazing book ive read.With just one or two chapter you read you will love it.

The setting of the story is in forest where their is danger.Daniel is a boy that has no friends but spends most of his time with his mom or uncle in the mountains. In school he was the class nobody.Scooty is the jerk who mostly makes fun of Daniel.Brandon and troy were scottys friends.They were told to go to summer camp.Untill there came a storm and the driver couldnt see anything.Daniel thought to himself that he was driving more than he was suppose to but kept his mouth shut.

The driver looked worried and then came up to a bridge.When he crossed in the middle of the bidge and BAAAAM. The car fell in the hole into the water and were stuck. Did Daniel Brandon Troy driver and scotty made it or did they get trapped.I quess you have to find out and read . The type of conflict is person vs person because Daniel is geting bullied by scotty the jerk.

I like this book because with just one chapter you read you will get in love with it.Another reason is that it makes you very excitedwhen you read it.

I like this book because it has such good quotes like "No matter how much it hurts you have to hang on.My final reason why i like this book is because it gives good deatail and you will be able to understand what they are saying.

I will rate this book 5 out of five stars because its such a amazing book to read anywhere you go.I will recomend this book to people who like adventure books like this one.This is why i think this is such a outstanding book to read.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kyle Conway
Per.3

“Danger on Midnight River,” is the SSR book that I have been reading in class. It is a very adventuress book filled with action written by the notorious, Gary Paulson. The main character of the book is a thirteen year old, mamma’s boy who has no true friends, his name is Daniel Martin. His mom signs him up for a summer camp and on the bus ride there his three arch enemies at school step on the bus.
In the beginning of the story the careless bus driver takes a wrong turn and wonders way out of the way ending up on some old rigid bridge. The bridge buckles under the massive weight of the bus, leaving the four children and the soon to be dead bus driver swimming for their lives down the rapids of the river that was below them. Dany and the other three children make it to shore. Over the five years that Daniels father has been gone, his uncle Smitty who lives in the Rockey Mountains has been teaching him about the outdoors and survival techniques that may have to come into play and save him and his three class mates. Over the course of a few days he leads his three class mates out of the forest and soon knows how it feels to have true friends.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed the adventure stories of Gary Paulsen and this is another great one. Daniel and three other boys are lost in the wilderness when their camp bus crashes. Daniel is a slow learner at school, but knows a great deal about surviving in the wilderness. The three boys he is stranded with have bullied him in the past, but they are now dependent on Daniel for survival. This is a great adventure story as well as a great story about friendship.

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book a three because it was not that good. I like how they hate each other a then they like each other at the end. they also had a fun adventure. They broke bones made tea. How they got there is they want over a brige and it fell on them. There bus driver died in the bus they dryed to get him out.then they swam to shore and they made a fire well Daniel made the fire. He made four fires they went about two weeks throw the mountanes.

[Lura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paulson wastes no time on this adventure. While the lesson of helping others, even when they've been unkind to you is strong, the issue of the driver, who apparently dies is not resolved. The boys just leave him in the van in the water. And I'm pretty sure there was no mention of him when the boys were found.

[Mike P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danger on midnight river is a thrill ride. If you like camping slash surviving stories, this book is just for you. I liked this story because it's short and a book you are excited to read. This book doesn't take long too read, but it's very enjoyable!

[Cameron710 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very short. The author put in a very simple plot arch. HE goes up to the woods, the van crashes, he survives with the enemies, and he lives. I think this book should of been longer. The author could of expanded more on the fact that the van crashed.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action-packed, quick read that addresses difficult choices to be made by a boy who is teased by the boys who need his help to survive. The students at my school enjoyed when I read part of this out loud because of Gary Paulsen's trademark adventure-telling style.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very esay and a great book!

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book!

[Wendy]

Good lessons about dealing with bullies and developing friendships and sticking together. 1 hour audio

[Agent_bugs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet, kind of surprised no one even considered trying to save the driver though.

[Rachel Yoder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, fast moving, full of action.

[Tana]

Good