“None of us came back whole, and not all of us came back.”
For the heroes of Paul
Griffin’s YA novel Adrift, there is
only so much that can be done against the power of the sea. When
seventeen-year-old Matt Halloway and his best friend, John, travel to the tip
of Long Island, the only adventure they’re looking for is a summer job and a
pocket full of cash. They certainly aren’t looking for romance or adventure.
Yet that is what they find when Matt, drawn to a pretty beachgoer, drags John
to a party at a nearby mansion. And then, when the girl’s cousin disappears, to
the beach. Into the water. Out to sea. Soon the boys are trapped in a tin
vessel with three rich kids and a big problem: in their panicked search for the
girl’s cousin, they lost sight of the shore. With no food or water and the
clock ticking down on the cousin’s life, Matt and John must do everything in
their power to bring everyone home—or die trying.
At first, there seems to be
little remarkable about the story of Matt Halloway. Sure, he’s got baggage.
Watching someone die will do that to a kid. Aside from that, though, he’s just
a boy with dreams of Ivy League graduation and a career somewhere nice and
quiet, where the ghosts of his past won’t be able to follow. Then he meets
Driana, a stunning girl with beaded dreadlocks and an incredible sense of faith
in mankind’s capacity for good. When she invites Matt and John to a party, she
has no intention of altering the course of their lives. That, perhaps, is what
makes this tale so absorbing. No one except the reader knows about the boat, or
the tragedies to come. There is no wise mentor guiding them along their path.
There is only sun and sky and the knowledge that some of them might not make it
out alive, and that makes anything possible.
It’s a testament to Griffin’s
writing skills that John is such an unlikeable hero. He’s strong, deadly smart,
and keeps a cool head in a crisis, all of which should add up to a great
leader. In reality, he’s a stone-faced captain with no tact whatsoever. Matt,
knowing this, still gives him the reins of leadership. John is the captain;
Matt is the medic. The fact that our protagonist is not in charge is
astounding, and forces readers to consider the situation from an entirely new
angle. And as pieces of their shared history begin to emerge from their
hidey-holes, the boys will have to face their demons in order to stay sane. The
thing is, neither their friendship nor Matt and Driana’s blossoming romance may
be strong enough to withstand such a confrontation.
For a story about survival,
there is surprisingly little questionable content. Cursing is rare, if present
at all, and inter-person violence is kept to a minimum. Threats are common,
especially as the mental health of some of the characters declines, but far
more disturbing is what happens after. It isn’t a spoiler to say that not
everyone makes it out of this little escapade alive, and the things that happen
to the bodies aren’t always pleasant, true to life though they might be. At one
point, someone comes to a somewhat gory end, though we are spared most of the
details. A traumatic event from the past is rehashed. The romance does not
progress beyond kissing.
I would recommend this book to
teens looking for a straightforward survival tale with a very real sense of
danger. Matt, John, and Dri are vastly different people with various levels of
relatability and likableness, and their companions only throw more chaos into
the mix. When five teens are stranded in a rickety boat with no rescue in
sight, Paul Griffin asks: who will pull through? With everything on the line, there
is no telling how far these kids will go to ensure their own survival. Chilling,
compelling, and unpredictable, Adrift is
a great addition to anyone’s To Read pile, deserving four stars.
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