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White Water
Greg confronts his own fears and assumes a leadership role when his father is bitten by a rattlesnake during a white-water rafting trip
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
4 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
P.J. Petersen
32 books12 followersP. J. Petersen grew up on a farm six miles from Geyserville, California. He says, "I was sure that I lived in the most boring place in the world--a prune farm in the middle of nowhere. Since my family didn't have the time or money to travel, I did my traveling through books. I read everything I could get my hands on. Most of my books came from the Geyserville Public Library, which was one tiny room served by the county Bookmobile. I loved the place, especially on the day after the Bookmobile came."
Mr. Petersen wanted to be a writer from the beginning. He had other ambitions, like being an airline pilot and a baseball player, but he always intended to write books.
He was not an immediate success. He wrote seriously for over twenty years without selling a single word. Then he had his best idea--to write a book for his daughter Karen, a seventh grader at the time. He had never written for young people, but he knew the kind of books his daughter liked. That book, WOULD YOU SETTLE FOR IMPROBABLE?, was his first published novel. He has been writing books for young people ever since.
Mr. Petersen lives with his wife, Marian, in Redding, California. He has two grown daughters, Karen and Carla, and two grandchildren, Ryan and Emma. A graduate of Stanford University with a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of New Mexico, he taught at Shasta College from 1964 to December 2000. Now that he has retired from teaching, he is available for school visits, workshops, or conferences.
Mr. Petersen wanted to be a writer from the beginning. He had other ambitions, like being an airline pilot and a baseball player, but he always intended to write books.
He was not an immediate success. He wrote seriously for over twenty years without selling a single word. Then he had his best idea--to write a book for his daughter Karen, a seventh grader at the time. He had never written for young people, but he knew the kind of books his daughter liked. That book, WOULD YOU SETTLE FOR IMPROBABLE?, was his first published novel. He has been writing books for young people ever since.
Mr. Petersen lives with his wife, Marian, in Redding, California. He has two grown daughters, Karen and Carla, and two grandchildren, Ryan and Emma. A graduate of Stanford University with a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of New Mexico, he taught at Shasta College from 1964 to December 2000. Now that he has retired from teaching, he is available for school visits, workshops, or conferences.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 3, 2022
I’d be terrified to go white water rafting just like Greg was 😅, but I love this book so much for so many reasons. Another childhood favorite
September 12, 2024
It’s so random but I suddenly remembered having read this book as a kid and how much I enjoyed it back then!
October 11, 2014
Everytime I pick up a book from my childhood's library, I get hit again with the fact that my mother used to be very awesome at choosing stories. Freak the Mighty, Sort of Forever, and Theater Girls were all her choices (the latter inspired by You Got Mail, I suspect), and I can't help but think how grateful I am that she had such great taste.
This was another of her picks, ordered from the school's book fair, if I remember correctly. And it's another good one. Short, and kinda gritty for children's books at that time, it's a decently paced tale about a kid who goes through a terrifying experience and comes out of it the best way he can. Also, this is kind of irrelevant but I picked up a lot of rafting/outdoorsy terms from this book. I was THE household authority on white water rafting for a pretty long time (until I picked up another hobby. So... Two weeks.)
I liked. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but I liked.
This was another of her picks, ordered from the school's book fair, if I remember correctly. And it's another good one. Short, and kinda gritty for children's books at that time, it's a decently paced tale about a kid who goes through a terrifying experience and comes out of it the best way he can. Also, this is kind of irrelevant but I picked up a lot of rafting/outdoorsy terms from this book. I was THE household authority on white water rafting for a pretty long time (until I picked up another hobby. So... Two weeks.)
I liked. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but I liked.
March 17, 2020
A difficult book to understand. A great premise, but lacking in engagement. If a person is well schooled in white water rafting, then some of the technical details will make sense and help with your enjoyment of the book. The dialogue felt young at times for a couple of the characters. Not a book I would reccomend.
July 29, 2020
Better than your average juvenile fiction writers. With no rafting experience, the children and I understood what was going on as if we were. At page 101, my heart almost lost it in sobs. Engrossed in the story, my 8-year-old didn't notice, but I don't mind modeling an empathetic heart even if he had.
March 15, 2018
White Water was a good book because you never get confused during the story and it's a good story because his father helps Greg get over his fears.
July 16, 2025
Very fun, adventurous book 😬 no humor 😄
October 7, 2008
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Grade: 3-5
The William Allen White Children's Book Award
This is a short novel that takes place in California. It is told from the perspective of a boy named Greg who lives in San Francisco with his divorced mother. He spends one weekend a month with his father, who lives in the northern part of the state. This particular weekend, his father has decided that Greg will join him and his half-brother James during a weekend of white water rafting. Greg is not happy with this, does not want to go, tries to get out of it, but ends up going. At the beginning of the story Greg does not know his half-brother very well, and he does not have a good relationship with his father. By the end of the story, after over-coming the many trials they face on the river, they become closer. Greg and James end up saving their father's life, which is almost taken by a snake bite. This brings them all closer. Also, Greg feels that after surviving what they went through that weekend he could handle anything, including a San Francisco earthquake.
Activity #1: Students could describe an event they have experience that has changed their perspective on something. If they shared their experiences with the class it would be a good team-builder because it would bring the students closer.
Activity #2: The book is very descriptive and tells specifically how to do certain things, such as using a pulley system to lift the heavy raft. Simple machines could be taught with this book, which would be a way to tie in science. Also, basic first aid skills could be taught as part of reading this book. This way students could be prepared for a similar situation if they were without what they needed.
Grade: 3-5
The William Allen White Children's Book Award
This is a short novel that takes place in California. It is told from the perspective of a boy named Greg who lives in San Francisco with his divorced mother. He spends one weekend a month with his father, who lives in the northern part of the state. This particular weekend, his father has decided that Greg will join him and his half-brother James during a weekend of white water rafting. Greg is not happy with this, does not want to go, tries to get out of it, but ends up going. At the beginning of the story Greg does not know his half-brother very well, and he does not have a good relationship with his father. By the end of the story, after over-coming the many trials they face on the river, they become closer. Greg and James end up saving their father's life, which is almost taken by a snake bite. This brings them all closer. Also, Greg feels that after surviving what they went through that weekend he could handle anything, including a San Francisco earthquake.
Activity #1: Students could describe an event they have experience that has changed their perspective on something. If they shared their experiences with the class it would be a good team-builder because it would bring the students closer.
Activity #2: The book is very descriptive and tells specifically how to do certain things, such as using a pulley system to lift the heavy raft. Simple machines could be taught with this book, which would be a way to tie in science. Also, basic first aid skills could be taught as part of reading this book. This way students could be prepared for a similar situation if they were without what they needed.
October 24, 2007
A great adventure story about a father, son, and stepson on a white water raft trip, only to encounter disaster. This is my favorite so far of all her books.
March 3, 2008
I read this book a long time ago and I still consider it as one of the best books I have ever read, it's a great adventure story.
Read
June 4, 2009JEAR3-Pet
September 22, 2010
It's a really good book about 2 boys and their dad go on a rafting trip and their dad gets hurt and then you have tyo read the book..........
November 21, 2010
I think if I had read this book as a child it would have left a bigger impression on me.
March 18, 2011
cool and amazing
March 18, 2011
It was super good. I think anyone that read it would enjoy it! ;)
October 22, 2014
This book is so intense, i recommend it to everyone. Its got action and family love and stuff. i just loved this books.
March 9, 2015
I bought and read this because it is a river book and river is in my blood. If it is not in yours it won't be from reading this.
March 12, 2015
An action filled story about a boy who faces his fears while trying to save his father on a white water rafting trip.
Want to read
January 24, 2017 William Allen White Book Awards winner; 2000
September 10, 2022
As inspiring as this story is, I can't help but think how inaccurate this would be in this situation but it's fiction, it's not meant to be accurate
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews