Stranded

Stranded #1

by Jeff Probst, Chris Tebbetts

A family vacation becomes
A Test of Survival!

It was supposed to be a vacation - and a chance to get to know each other better. But when a massive storm sets in without warning, four kids are shipwrecked alone on a rocky jungle island in the middle of the South Pacific. No adults. No instructions. Nobody to rely on but themselves. Can they make it home alive?

A week ago, the biggest challenge Vanessa, Buzz, Carter, and Jane had was learning to live as a new blended family. Now the four siblings must find a way to work together if they're going to make it off the island. But first they've got to learn to survive one another.

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

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Jeff Probst is the multi-Emmy Award-winning host and executive producer of the popular series "Survivor."

After years of young fans asking, "When are you going to do a Survivor for kids?" Jeff took his wife's advice and created a children's adventure series based on Survivor -- where the kids are the ones STRANDED.

Reviews

[Jason Parent · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is simple, well written and paced well, but it just didn't thrill me. I liked it, but didn't love it. But you very well may - I may not quite be this book's target audience. The shipwreck scene - not a spoiler given the synopsis - is gripping and entrancing. But be forewarned: the Part 1 means just that. Do not expect this part to have an ending.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book was great. I had tried it before but I didn't like it so I tried it again and this time it was great. My favorite character was Carter because everybody always made fun of him but every time somebody asked him to do something he came through and always succeeded. I didn't like Buzz because all he did was throw up and get sick. I thought the detail about the action was great because it put all the little details to make it better and it certainly did make it better. When I read this book I was happy because when you first read a book and don't like it and then you read it again and like it, it means you tried a book again and liked it more than you did the first time it feels good. That's why I gave this book the 5 great stars!

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of the TV show Survivor, having not missed a single episode of the 29 (so far) seasons. Jeff Probst does an excellent job as the show's host. He certainly knows first hand what skills are needed to survive on an island for a number of days, weeks, or months. Skills like being able to find a food and water source, build a fire, and put together a safe and dry shelter. But can he translate that knowledge into an interesting and exciting middle grade adventure novel? I'm not so sure about that one. I'm not even positive how much of this book he even wrote. His co-author is Chris Tebbetts, but even he couldn't save this mess.

The story here is fairly weak and one that has been done before, and done much better. Four kids ages 9-13 are taking a sailing trip around the Hawaiian Islands while their just married parents are on their Hawaiian honeymoon. Two of the kids are the mom's, the other two belong to the dad. The idea is for the kids to bond while on the trip since they don't know each other well and have only recently become family. Early into the trip they are caught in a huge storm and the boat starts taking on water. The captain and first mate inflate the life raft for all of them to jump into and somehow end up inside it without the kids. They soon get taken away by the waves, leaving the four kids on the boat to fend for themselves. The boat ends up crashing on a rocky beach, where the kids spend the rest of the book figuring out how to survive until they are hopefully rescued.

There is very little character development, and what there is paints the kids as four very distinct stereotypes. Not much imagination there. The story is told in third person so I didn't ever feel like I knew any of the characters at all. All the dialogue between them deals with what they're going to do, how they're going to do it, or who knows how to do it best. There's no inner dialogue so I never knew what any of the characters were thinking or what they were feeling. It made them all extremely one dimensional and rather boring. I ended up not really caring about them at all. I know they will all be rescued eventually. The authors are just going to drag it out for two more books before that finally happens. The ending of this one is not a cliff hanger like so many trilogies written for this age group. It was really more of a “to be continued" type ending. So no rush to get them rescued if there's still two more books.

If I want to read an exciting action/adventure story geared toward the middle grades, my go to author will always be Roland Smith. He always writes fabulous stories with fully developed characters. Stories that are full of adventure, danger, and intrigue. Wonderful stories that I have a hard time putting down. Maybe Jeff Probst could learn a few things from him. Or better yet, read the Island trilogy by Gordon Korman, a book that this one has tried, and failed miserably, at copying more than just a few main plot points.

I'm being very generous giving this book 2 stars.

[CC. Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fully set to dislike this, but.......I found myself really liking it! I would definitely recommend it for its target audience-adolescents. While the book is probably mostly written by Tebbetts, I felt as if the voice of Jeff Probst came though loud and clear-a very direct, no-nonsense style.

Four young people (and brand new step-siblings) are off on a sailing adventure with their uncle. But, of course, nothing goes as planned. A huge storm cripples the boat; the uncle is swept overboard; and, the kids get shipwrecked on a deserted island. It's not surprising that the book is set on an island (Probst is the host of the mega-TV show Survivor), and the characters have to survive on their own with just their wits and natural elements. That's what Probst is good at. However, unlike the Survivor TV show, there is no backstabbing, lying or power-hungry, morally bankrupt contestants intent only on greed and selfishness. (Can you tell I can't stand the show?) While I don't like my kids to watch the TV show, I would recommend this to readers in middle school.

While the adventure/survival aspect was cool, I was most impressed by the family dynamics here. The reactions of the teens were realistic and thoughtful and gripping. They weren't just cardboard cutouts of characters, which is what I thought I would get.

It's a little book that packs a lot of punch. Fast and easy to read at 192 pages.

[Kenji L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear readers, My name is Kenji Lee and i am attending Roseville area high school and I want to tell you about this Book, Stranded, by Jeff Probst and Chris Tebbetts. This book had almost no cons and many pros but I’m here to tell you what I believe what were the pros and cons about this book. One of the Pros in this book is that the characters all have their own little special ability. For example, the four characters named Vanessa, Buzz, Carter, and Jane all have a unique skill. Vanessa is super smart with technology and loves to fix things, and Buzz loves to watch survivor shows, so he learned ways to find food and water. Also carter was very athletic and brave, and Jane was smart and knew things that a regular 9 year old girl wouldn’t. A Con for the story is that there isn’t that much adventures they go on. One of their most entertaining adventure is when Carter and Jane went to find water. Another Pro would be the characters interaction with each other. In the story there was a rain storm coming and carter and Jane had left to find water, so it was just Vanessa and buzz at camp. They both were thirsty so they used their knowledge and made a rain catcher from one of their sails from their boat crash. I recommend this book for you to read if you like short adventures, imagery, and pure awesomeness.

[Cadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I like this book because they were alive in the end so now I know that there is another book." -Cadee age 8

[Sahithi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ❤️ Jeff Probst

[Books R Life ☕]

Great middle grade read!

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carter and Jane's mother had recently married Vanessa and Buzz's father. Uncle Dexter decided to take the kids out to sea on a sailing adventure so the honeymooners could hike at Volcanoes National Park and enjoy the beaches of Hawaii. The new siblings were supposed to bond ideally on a small boat out in the middle of nowhere, but it wasn't going so great and the weather was getting serious. The boat rocked and tilted, it was time to call in an SOS, especially since water was coming in through the engine. Uncle Dex was preparing for everyone to get into the life raft. One moment he was there and the next he wasn't. With the small boat breaking apart from the thrashing of the storm, four children are seemingly left alone to fend for themselves. The worst wasn't over yet. By daybreak they found themselves washed up on an island and wondering what will happen next. How will they survive? Now, they must find a way together to survive and get off the island of Nowhere. This fast paced read is an exciting adventure, as it was intended, for young readers to enjoy. Lively conversation and interactions with the characters will keep readers engaged and perhaps recognizing some similarities from their own siblings. Author Jeff Probst of the famed television show Survivor has created a wonderful adventure any middle grade reader would love. Vivid imagery throughout the pages will have readers feeling as though they were stranded too.

[Liberty Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me and this book were inseparable in 5th grade I literally started buying ropes and things to get prepared to be stranded on an island my biggest dream as a kid

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jon rates this 4.5 stars, he really liked the ending.

Savannah rates this 1.5

I was surprised at the ending, in that... There wasn't really an ending. Then Savannah informed me this was only book 1 of a trilogy, which made more sense.

[Kat V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. By no means excellent but good for the relevant age. 3.8 stars

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book about 4 kids who get stranded on an island and have to survive until a rescue team arrives. The biggest challenge.....water.

[Deanie Nelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Survivor host Jeff Probst collaborated with author Chris Tebbets (who writes with James Patteson) to write the Stranded trilogy, a series of Middle Grade novels about four preteens stranded on a deserted island after a disastrous sailing trip with their uncle.

The story line is good, if a bit predictable. Tech whiz Vanessa and her survival-show watching brother Buzz are stranded with their new step-siblings, athletic Carter and young brainiac Jane, when their boat goes down in a storm (and their uncle and his partner are pulled overboard before the kids can get into the life raft). They have to deal with their personal and family issues while surviving on the island.

This is one book in which a miscast narrator leads to a mediocre audio book. Sometimes narrator Charles Carroll does a good job, but his style is mellow and bland, and sometimes he makes getting stranded on a deserted island sound about as interesting and exciting as tax law.

[Liviania · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're like my mom and me, then you took a look at this cover and went, "Jeff Probst? Like Survivor?" Yes, the host of Survivor has written a middle grade book with the help of Chris Tebbetts. Unsurprisingly, it involves people stuck on an island.

Vanessa and Buzz Diaz's father married Carter and Jane Benson's mother, making them all siblings. As a gift, their Uncle Dexter offered to take the kids on a cruise during the honeymoon, giving them time to bond. While Buzz and Carter are the same age, they're very different. Carter is more athletic and active, whereas Buzz prefers to stay belowdecks. Jane is cute, but too young to be interested in the same things as the others, whereas Vanessa is too old.

Then the kids are forced to work together when the boat runs aground during a large storm and they're separated from Uncle Dex and his first mate. Because the boat changed directions several times trying to outrun the storm, the authorities only have a general idea where the kids are. It could be a long time before help arrives.

STRANDED is a terrific high interest, low effort novel. The kids keep barely escaping total disaster, which keeps the pages turning. Plus they represent a range of personalities, somewhat shallowly drawn but easily identified with. I particularly like Jane, who contributes to their survival just as much as the others by being observant and thoughtful.

I felt STRANDED was a bit short. It's nearly two hundred pages long, but the print is large. Just when things really got going, it ended. I suppose that's the way of this sort of adventure series for young readers. I think kids who like this one will be eager to read TRIAL BY FIRE in June in order to figure out how the kids face the dangers of the island.

STRANDED doesn't have much to interest older readers, but it's a good choice for younger, reluctant readers. It's easy to read and exciting.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this novel, I had heard so many things about it and most of the reviews about it were great yet after I read it, I was disappointed. Let me start off first by saying what I liked about the novel. I liked that it was short and that will appeal to many children who don’t like to read. The cover is fantastic too and people will be attracted to the book because of that. I liked the diversity among the children; they each had something to offer to the story and made them unique. What I didn’t enjoy was that I didn’t think there wasn’t any character development in the story; I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters. They all were there, existing and I heard them talking and interacting but no one moved me. I also felt like there was no consistency in the book. The scene with the boat went on for pages and pages but yet when they landed on the island, the newness of that and the scene that greeted them didn’t get the sparkle, I thought it deserved. As they arrive on land, I thought the children seemed okay with the situation, like they are adults; their maturity level was outstanding for the situation at hand and it surprised me considering everything. Perhaps I analyzed the situation too much, have seen too many reality shows but things just didn’t click. I definitely won’t be reading anymore of this series. I think this would be a good book for elementary children.

[Jenny Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids go on a boat ride with an adult or two but in a storm the kids and adults are separated, leaving the kids shipwrecked on an island figuring out how to survive and return to civilization. A blended family faces trauma that forces them into teamwork. These plots have been used before, but I think because Jeff Probst is the host of Survivor, he adds a better reality flavor.

Carter and Jane's mom has just married Vanessa and Buzz's dad. Carter and Jane's Uncle Dexter and first mate Joe take the four kids out on his boat for a several day cruise. Four days later the adults are washed away on a raft and the four kids start learning about their individual talents and how they can work together.

My middle school daughter begged for this book at a book fair. The reviews were good. She couldn't stop talking about it from page one. When we purchased book three, I decided to give the series a try. I am glad I waited because now that I have finished the first installment I have to find out for myself what happens in book two! Probst and Tebbets have created an exciting adventure that middle grade boys and girls can enjoy as well as adults.

[Emma Van · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was extremely boring. I'm surprised I managed to pull myself through the dreadful plot and characters. While extremely short this book didn't describe the setting. Also, the characters had horrible traits. For example, there was one inactive chubby boy, a 9 year old thats obsessed with video taping for school, a arrogant sporty boy and the dullest and the oldest, Vanessa. I feel that the author tried to get them stranded as quickly as possible so he didn't have to use a lot of descriptive language. Furthermore, I would not recommend this book to anyone unless your looking for a horrible story.

[Colby]

Moving over from Goodreads to StoryGraph this year so check out my reviews there under @colbysanders!

I’m looking for some books to read with my seventh grade students next semester, and I wanted to try Stranded, a series I remember enjoying as a kid and which has some connections to Survivor, my favorite television show. I can’t give the book a star rating because I know I’m not the intended audience, and, save for an annoying cliffhanger that forces you to look at this book as more of an introduction than anything else, it’s good. The characters are simplistic but distinct, the action is unbelievable but entertaining, and the descriptions are basic but it’s a middle-grade book, and I think it would work well for a seventh grade class. I guess I’ll be reading this again (several times) later this year. Maybe I can email Jeff Probst and have him do an author’s QnA!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stranded Book Review

Stranded is a book that was written by Jeff Probst who is the host of Survivor. The book started out with four kids and two adults sailing on a boat. The four kids were Carter, Jane, Vanessa, and Buzz. Carter and Vanessa were siblings, and Buzz and Vanessa were siblings, but this trip was made to make them bond with each other. They hit a storm and the two adults that they were with got stranded at sea, and the four kids got stranded on the island. While the four were on the island, they had to learn to work together and survive.

The book was pretty good and it was good the way each of the characters interacted with each other. There was a lot of action and it was very well written. The ending was good, but it was not the end of the franchise because there are two other books after Stranded. Jeff Probst did a very good job in the way he wrote the book.

People would want to read the book because it was a high action book. Also, the book shows that more can be accomplished when everyone works together. I recommend this book to anyone because it was good and had a good message.

[Megan (ReadingRover) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jeff Probst should stick to hosting Survivor instead of writing books. This books was horrible. Yes I realize that the targeted audience was middle grade but it was more for young children also it was just boring. Nothing even happens throughout. The kids are left with most of the supplies they need to survive until their water disappears but then they find that easily enough. Absolutely nothing happens the whole time they’re on the island. It’s dull. Then the epilogue comes out of nowhere and it ends and they’re still there. Wtf is that. I realize now it’s a series so the boredom will continue. Since this was a short book I may continue the series just to see if it stays the same or if Jeff can redeem himself. Otherwise the tribe has spoken.

[Dan Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

My best friend bought me this book as a somewhat-gag-gift, because we both really love Survivor but are also in our early 20s. Especially for a YA novel, it severely exceeded my expectations. Wonderfully compelling, incredibly realistic, and truly terrifying, this is a must-read for anyone interested in surviving a shipwreck or for anyone, like me, who loves adventure novels but has the general constitution of a bunny rabbit.

[BigMindPose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. I liked it, although it annoyed me SO MUCH because of the cliffhanger at the end of the book! However, one thing that I really liked about this book, was that the writer's perspective switched between the four kids (Vanessa, Buzz, Carter and Jane). Overall, this was a good book. I might have to read the other books in the series!

-BigMindPose

[Emma Kagan]

Survivor season is over so this book was the next thing I picked up! I’ve been meaning to read this book all year and think that 4th/5th grade students looking for an adventurous survival tale would enjoy.

[Rod Horncastle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four kids get shipwrecked on an island in the Pacific… mostly dull. I can’t believe this was a New York Times bestseller.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action from the get-go. Enjoyable juvenile story to spend a few hours with.

[Isabel Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good but I feel that it could have been more about survivor

[Sarah Zahrt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to read along with a student I work with at school. I think middle school students would enjoy this book and will want to pick up the next few in the series!

[Martin Leyva]

Personal Response: I like the book because I like adventures, and this book is all about adventure. The goal is to look for food and water.

Plot: It's about these four kids that go on a seven day boat ride in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but they get an unexpected storm. Their uncle gets on the life raft with his two nephews, but with the big storm, the four kids stay on the boat and their uncle and their other two brothers get blown away. Their boat gets torn, and they end up on an island and they have to learn to work together. But there's a situation they only have a little bit of food and a tank full of water but the water had a hole on it somehow because they tried to open it with an axe and when they came back all of it leaked out. They have to go for an adventure to look for a lagoon for fresh water to drink. There in a big struggle to look for water to survive. Then they find water, but the only problem is that they don't have food to eat. Vanessa then manage to fix the solar panel to charge their satellite phone for they can make more phone calls and give information to the rescuers where they are. But the problem is that the island is not on any of the maps.

recommendation: I recommend this book to everyone because this book isn't that bad. It's all about adventures and I think that they love this book because if they ever get stranded somewhere like in the middle of the ocean in an island they'll be able to know what to do.

[Trevor Bosse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was amazing. I love survival books so this book caught my attention the minute I put it in my hand. From the problems they faced and to find out if they would make it alive this book is one of my all time favorites. I also really like the characters especially carter. I give this book a five star.