Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can... (more)

Escaping the Giant Wave

by Peg Kehret

The worst vacation ever! Thirteen-year old Kyle thought spending a vacation on the Oregon coast with his family would be great. He'd never flown before, and he'd never seen the Pacific Ocean. Kyle's perfect vacation becomes a nightmare while he's babysitting his sister, BeeBee. An earthquake hits the coast and starts afire in their hotel. While fighting their way through smoke and flame, Kyle remembers seeing a... (more)

Matt Cruse: Book 1

Airborn

by Kenneth Oppel

Sailing toward dawn, and I was perched atop the crow's nest, being the ship's eyes. We were two nights out of Sydney, and there'd been no weather to speak of so far. I was keeping watch on a dark stack of nimbus clouds off to the northwest, but we were leaving it far behind, and it looked to be smooth going all the way back to Lionsgate City. Like riding a cloud. . . . Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a... (more)

In the Heart of the Sea

The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

by Nathaniel Philbrick

The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819, the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with twenty crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than ninety days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather,... (more)

Shipwreck (Island, Book 1)

by Gordon Korman

Six kids. One fate. Nick, J.J., Will, Lyssa, Charla, and Ian. They didn't want to be on the boat in the first place. They didn¹t want to be stuck at sea with a bunch of strangers. But when you¹re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there¹s no easy way out. And when a terrifying storm hits, there¹s no way to fully prepare. It¹s all about survival.

My Side of the Mountain Trilogy

by Jean Craighead George

In 1959, Jean Craighead George published My Side of the Mountain . This coming-of-age story about a boy and his falcon went on to win a Newbery Honor, and for the past forty years has enthralled and entertained generations of would-be Sam Gribleys. The two books that followed-- On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain --were equally extraordinary. Now all three books are available in one deluxe... (more)

The Incredible Journey

by Sheila Burnford

Instinct told them that the way home lay to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness. Separately, they would soon have died. But, together, the three house pets faced starvation, exposure, and wild forest animals to make their way home to the family they love. The Incredible Journey is one of the great... (more)

The Grapes of Wrath

by John Steinbeck

Forced from their home, the Joad family is lured to California to find work; instead they find disillusionment, exploitation, and hunger.

Three Cups of Tea

One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations... One School at a Time

by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and... (more)

The Book of Negroes

by Lawrence Hill

Abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village in West Africa and forced to walk for months to the sea in a coffle - a string of slaves - Aminata Diallo is sent to live as a slave in South Carolina. But years later, she forges her way to freedom, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the historic "Book of Negroes". This book, an actual document, provides a short but immensely... (more)

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book 2

The Reptile Room

by Lemony Snicket

Dear Reader, If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale. I'm afraid you have picked up the wrong book altogether. The story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire children spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy uncle, but don't be fooled. If you know anything at all about the unlucky Baudelaire children, you already know that even pleasant... (more)

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

by Sally Jenkins, Lance Armstrong

The #1 New York Times bestseller with legs as strong as its author's. Lance Armstrong is one of the most talked about- and inspirational-sports figures of all time. He was Sports Illustrated 's 2002 Sportsman of the Year-and now, after his record-shattering string of Tour de France victories, some are proclaiming him the greatest athlete of all time. This is the book in which he shares his journey... (more)

Witch Child

by Celia Rees

Enter the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary’s startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true... (more)

The Sign of the Beaver

by Elizabeth George Speare

Until the day his father returns to their cabin in the Maine wilderness, 12-year-old Matt must try to survive on his own. During an attack by swarming bees, Matt is astonished when he's rescued by an Indian chief and his grandson, Attean. As the boys come to know each other, many months pass without a sign of Matt's family. Then Attean asks Matt to join the Beaver tribe.

World War Z

An Oral History of the Zombie War

by Max Brooks

“The end was near.” —Voices from the Zombie War The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and... (more)

My Side of the Mountain Trilogy: Book 2

On the Far Side of the Mountain

by Jean Craighead George

Two years ago, Sam ran away from New York City to live in the Catskill Mountains. Now his younger sister Alice has joined him and is quietly living in a tree house of her own nearby. Their peaceful life is shattered when a conservation officer confiscates Sam's falcon, Frightful, and Alice suddenly vanishes. Sam leaves his home to search for Alice, hoping to find Frightful, too. But the trail to the far side of... (more)

Call It Courage

by Armstrong Sperry

Mafatu's name means "Stout Heart," but his people call him a coward. Ever since the sea took his mother's life and spared his own, he has lived with deep fear. And even though his father is the Great Chief of Hikueru--an island whose seafaring people worship courage--he is terrified, and consequently, he is severely scorned. By the time he is fifteen years old, Mafatu can bear it no longer. He must conquer ... (more)

Turnabout

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

In the year 2000 Melly and Anny Beth were old and ready to die. But when offered the chance to be young again by participating in a top-secret experiment called Project Turnabout, they agreed. They received injections that made them grow younger, and it seemed like a miracle. But when the injections that were supposed to stop the unaging process turned out to be deadly, Melly and Anny Beth decided to run for their... (more)

Shadow Children: Book 1

Among the Hidden

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Government regulations limit families to two children each, so Luke, an illegal third-born, must live his life in secret, hidden in his family's farmhouse. When a new housing development is built on land bordering his backyard, Luke discovers Jen, another "shadow child", in one of the new homes. Jen is willing to risk everything for a chance to come out of the shadows, and her determination draws Luke into a... (more)

Boot Camp

by Todd Strasser

In the middle of the night Garrett is taken from his home to Harmony Lake, a boot camp for troubled teens. Maybe some kids deserve to be sent there, but Garrett knows he doesn't. Subjected to brutal physical and psychological abuse, he tries to fight back, but the battle is futile. He won't be allowed to leave until he's admitted his "mistakes" and conformed to Harmony Lake's standards of behavior. And there's... (more)

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Browse Subjects: survival

Top Books

by Stephen King

by Peg Kehret

by Kenneth Oppel

The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

by Nathaniel Philbrick

by Gordon Korman

by Jean Craighead George

by Sheila Burnford

by John Steinbeck

One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations... One School at a Time

by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin

by Lawrence Hill

by Lemony Snicket

by Sally Jenkins, Lance Armstrong

by Celia Rees

by Elizabeth George Speare

An Oral History of the Zombie War

by Max Brooks

by Jean Craighead George

by Armstrong Sperry

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

by Todd Strasser