REVIEW⤏ WHEN WE WERE LOST

BY KEVIN WIGNALL

SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS⇣
Survival. It's a concept these high school students never had to consider--until their plane crashes in a remote rainforest with no adults left alive. With many of them falling prey to threats from both the jungle and man, they soon realize that danger comes in many sinister forms.
Tom Calloway didn't want to go on a field trip to Costa Rica, but circumstances had him ending up sitting in the back of the plane--which was the only part that was intact after the crash in the remote South American wilderness. Tom and a small group of his classmates are fortunate to be alive, but their luck quickly runs out when some of them fall prey to the unfamiliar threats of the jungle--animals, reptiles, insects, and even the unforgiving heat. Every decision they make could mean life or death.
As the days go by and the survivors' desperation grows, things get even more perilous. Not everyone can cope with the trauma of seeing their friends die, and a struggle for leadership soon pits them against each other. And when they come across evidence of other people in the middle of the rainforest, does that mean they're safe--or has their survival come to an even more vicious end?

BOOK TAGS⇣

⤏ PLANE CRASH
⤏ ALL THE SURVIVORS ARE TEENS
⤏ LOW DRAMA
⤏ CAN THEY WORK TOGETHER TO SURVIVE?

BOOK DETAILS⇣

AUDIO PERFORMED BY⇢ WILL COLLYER

SOURCE⇢ LIBBY AUDIOBOOK (LIBRARY)

AUDIOBOOK LENGTH⇢ 8 HOURS, 47 MINUTES

MY THOUGHTS⇣

The prologue and the epilogue were clearly the best parts of this story.  As for the filler in between...not all bad...it was mostly forgettable, though.  I believe the reason I feel this way, is the characters lacked any real emotion, they did just lose a whole bunch of friends and teachers, after all.  That's in addition to the plane crash.  Plus overall they got their shit together pretty quick...for a bunch of kids.  My guess is...the author doesn't really do drama.

Basically, you get a bunch of kids who crash land...far from where they were originally headed for.  You have the quiet kid, the think-they-know-it-alls, the girls, and a couple of nerdy kids...and the rest, they just want someone to lead them.  It was sort of like The Breakfast Club meets the first few episodes of Lost with a South American jungle setting.  The audio is decently done and the book really flies by...before you even know it, and maybe a little too quickly, and too easily...your closing in on the end of the book.

BREAKDOWN⇣

Plot⇢ 3.7/5

Characters⇢ 3.3/5

The Feels⇢ 3/5

Pacing⇢ 4/5

Addictiveness⇢ 3.7/5

Theme or Tone⇢ 4/5

Flow (Writing Style)⇢ 4/5

World-Building⇢ 3.5/5

Originality⇢ 3/5

Ending⇢ 3.8/5