If We Survive

If We Survive by Andrew Klavan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dude, that was intense.

This is the story of Will Peterson, an average 16-year old sophomore in high school. He goes on a mission trip with his school and church friends to build a wall for a school in Costa Verde, a fictional country in Central America. On the last day of their trip a revolution breaks out. What follows is their struggle to stay alive and get back home.

Klavan is smart to tell the story through Will's narrative. He begins by describing each member of the team. This works especially well because Will's perception of each character changes through the course of events. One is a jerk until he's a hero. One is calm and mature under stress until she's giggling like a schoolgirl. One is an idealist until he begins to see what's really happening. One is a pacifist believe he will be heard until he is not. One is a shallow valley girl until she gets over herself.

There is suspense and real danger here. It is believable for the most part, at least in a fictional story sense. It is also Christian but not overtly so. Will has a rudimentary faith that gets expressed mostly in general way - like "please God get us out of here." The book isn't preachy at all. Rather, Will comes to appreciate the beauty of things amid the evils of men. His faith and general world view become much broader.

On audio, the book is narrated by Jeremy Johnson. He did a great job, but his phrasing was a bit too slow for my liking. Speeding it up by twice kept me riveted.

This is a scary book because it is possible and has even happened in some cases. Life is a dangerous business. It's a great suspenseful, action-packed read and I highly recommend it.

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