Distress Signal - by Mary E Lambert (Hardcover)

About the Book

Lavender and the rest of the sixth-graders are on a camping trip to the Chiricahua wilderness, but the trip seems cursed from the start, and when a flash flood splits the group up Lavender finds herself lost, together with her former best friend Marisol, mean-girl Rachelle, and a boy John who has been behaving like a surly jerk since the start--they have only one pack of supplies and only the most basic wilderness knowledge, but if they are to survive they need to put their differences aside and work as a team or all that will be left of them are their sun-bleached bones.

Book Synopsis

In this edge-of-your-seat survival story, four classmates are stranded in a desert wilderness after a flash flood separates them from the rest of their grade. Can they make it to safety?

Lavender's class is on a field trip in the desert of Chiricahua National Monument, hiking down a ravine, when a flash flood strikes!

As the water hurtles down the ravine, everyone sprints for safety. Lavender runs in the opposite direction as the rest of her class and scrambles up a tree while the torrential river rages by.

When the waters finally recede, Lavender finds herself stranded in the brutal heat of the desert with only her ex-best friend Marisol, mean-girl Rachelle, and a boy named John. They are shaken, disoriented, and have just one pack of supplies and the most basic wilderness knowledge. Can they find their way back to safety? They will have to learn to work together in spite of their differences -- if they want to survive.

Review Quotes

Praise for Distress Signal:

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"[Readers] will enjoy Lambert's blend of survival themes, focus on teamwork, and friendship drama in her fast-paced plot." - School Library Journal

Praise for Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes:

"Annabelle's smart, perceptive voice is fresh and realistic. Well-drawn and sympathetic characters (even, eventually, Annabelle's parents) drive this immersive tale. This debut story is a standout." -- Kirkus Reviews

"This poignant tale with an authentic and memorable narrator will resonate with many young readers -- whether they have personal experiences with hoarding or not. Move this to the top of the realistic fiction purchase list in libraries serving middle graders." -- School Library Journal

"Gutsy and affecting. A believably hopeful ending reinforces the story's call to face problems rather than hide or run from them, and to ask for help from others -- especially family." -- Publishers Weekly

"Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes is a heartfelt exploration of family and friendship, adolescence and sisterhood; it is a touching and real portrait of the beautiful mess that love and life can sometimes be." -- Dan Gemeinhart, author of The Honest Truth

"Brave, honest and heartfelt. With grace and humor, the author tackles the overlooked subject of hoarding and gives us a loving portrait of a family in the process of healing." -- Phoebe Stone, author of The Boy on Cinnamon Street

About the Author

Mary E. Lambert is a middle school English teacher in Tempe, Arizona. She graduated from the Vermont College of Fine Arts with an MFA in children's writing and is the author of Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes. Visit her on Twitter @MaryUncontrary or at MaryELambert.com.