Horizon by Scott Westerfeld

Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781743817605
(Ages 11+ - Middle School) A group of Tech Savvy teens are heading to Tokyo for a Robotics competition when their plane crashes somewhere in the ice and snow of the arctic. While they mourn their mentor, trying to find remaining passengers and scavenge what they can from the plane, they group together to realise that of the 500 plus people onboard there are only 8 survivors. They also find themselves in the middle of a hostile jungle with flora and fauna which does not want them there.
The first in a 7 part multi-author series, Horizon sets the scene for a multi-perspective story of survival which borrows aspects of many stories before it. There is some good character development, but characters are also cliched stereotypes ie the bossy one, the reluctant scaredy one etc. As the teenagers learn survival skills, they also learn that working together and cooperation will be key elements in finding their way home. The more they explore, the more questions they have. Westerfeld gives readers only a taste of what is to come in further stories. The story is a fast-paced adventure with some very technical sci fi elements.
Clare Thompson