On the free by Coert Voorhees
Carolrhoda Lab, 2017. ISBN 9781512429138
(Age: 15+) Themes: Survival. Disasters. Resilience. Santiago has
elected to undertake the Bear Canyon Wilderness Therapy Programme in
the Colorado mountains as a diversion from the juvenile justice
system. A small party supervised by two counsellors sets off on a
demanding trek designed to encourage the attendees to evaluate their
lives and take responsibility for the future. Santi's character is
brilliantly depicted. He's a good kid who has made a couple of poor
decisions which lead to serious consequences. I found myself nodding
at the entirely realistic portrayal of a lad lacking parental
guidance whose ethnicity and socio-economic background limit his
opportunities. When drug offences lead to criminal bad company and a
custodial sentence, I groaned, not just because Santi's choices were
so obviously flawed, but because this is daily reality for so many
young people.
It was also refreshing to see the Wilderness Programme presented as
a well-intentioned but slightly delusional attempt to help troubled
youths who treated it with some derision. This was partly due to
their adolescent cynicism and posturing but also because its
organisation and staffing were imperfect.
Victor is another trekker and is a thoroughly unpleasant character
who enjoys inflicting discomfort and humiliation on his fellows.
Again, the revelation of his past steers the reader to understand
and feel compassion for a young man whose future could have been so
much happier and more fulfilling.
The interaction and tension between Santi and Victor and other party
members is realistically portrayed and a natural disaster which
leads the pair to fight for life in the company of Amelia, one of
the camp counsellors is entirely plausible.
This is a good survival story which could have been brilliant. The
crafting of characters, setting and events in the context of
wilderness adventure created a fast-paced and satisfying read which
unfortunately lost its way a little after the disaster. The
inclusion of another aspect seemed contrived and unnecessary,
cluttering a story which was developing nicely on its own.
This is still a worthy read and I know it will appeal to those who
enjoy survival stories where individuals have to use skill and
resilience to overcome significant physical and mental challenges.
I'd suggest this suits readers 15+ and the text contains some
profanity which achieves a nice balance in presenting realistic
teenage dialogue which the readership will identify with, but which
is not particularly offensive or gratuitous.
Rob Welsh