Published: 2021
Series: N/A
Author: J.L. Esplin
Illustrator: N/A
Genres: Middle Grade, Adventure, Survival, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Audiobook, Dystopia, Contemporary, Children’s Fiction
Audience (Grade Levels): Grades 4-6 (Middle Grade Focus, fitting PreK-12th grade school libraries)
Number of Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads Link: 96 Miles
Triggers / Content Warnings: Armed robbery / theft at gunpoint, severe dehydration, parental absence, and high-stakes survival peril.
Review By: Corinne Blair
Publisher’s Summary:
Dad always said if things get desperate, it’s okay to drink the water in the toilet. I never thought it would come to that. I thought I’d sooner die than let one drop of toilet water touch my lips. Yet here I am, kneeling before a porcelain throne, holding a tin mug for scooping in one hand, and my half-gallon canteen in the other. The Lockwood brothers are supposed to be able to survive anything. Their dad, a hardcore survivalist, has stockpiled enough food and water on their isolated Nevada ranch to last for months. But when they are robbed at gunpoint during a massive blackout while their dad is out of town, John and Stew must walk 96 miles in the stark desert sun to get help—and they have only 3 days before their time runs out….
Review:
I really enjoyed this book! I have been searching for a great survival story that is similar to Hatchet to use as a read aloud for my 6th graders. Last year was the first year I used it as a read aloud and the kids LOVED it! I was able to quickly read it over the summer and knew it was a winner! Yet, I found it to be a bit slow as a read aloud during some points. I worried the kids would get bored as the author really went into details about explaining every little thing! However, at the end, the kids wrote ,unanimously, (two classes!) that they absolutely loved it. One of my tougher students actually read it again! I appreciated a survival story about a desert showing that it is not always boiling hot and can be freezing at night (I also teach science!). I do wish there was a bit more to the ending and there was more character development, especially on the siblings the brothers meet along the way. Regardless, there was plenty of action, survival skills, and laugh out loud moments. The story is a great one of grit, motivation and the bond between friends/siblings.
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- ELA (English Language Arts): An excellent mentor text for examining first-person narrative tension, tracking individual character motivations, and comparing the themes of isolation versus community with Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet.
- Science & Environmental Studies: Fits perfectly into earth science units. It provides an authentic, real-world case study on desert biomes, highlighting thermal fluctuations (extreme day heat versus freezing night temperatures) and human physical hydration limits.
- SEL (Social-Emotional Learning): Offers strong curricular pathways for discussing family dynamics, sibling bonds, cultivating perseverance/grit, analyzing ethical obligations to neighbors, and coping with severe crisis situations.
- Extension Activity / Library Application: Perfect for use as an interactive school library choiceboard selection or classroom extension activity. Teachers can coordinate a “Desert Resource Management and Route Audit.” Using mapping tools, students can track John and Stew’s 96-mile trek, auditing the survival choices made by the characters while compiling a realistic “Emergency Preparedness Kit” designed for localized natural disasters or grid failures.
- Diversity & Representation: The book models inclusion and representation by exploring the psychological landscape of a non-traditional family structure impacted by survivalist subcultures. By introducing diverse background characters and siblings along the road, the text forces privileged protagonists to expand their worldview, directly validating the shared values of human equity, mutual aid, and intersectional vulnerability during a widespread public infrastructure crisis.
