The Explorer is the story of four children who are on a plane leaving Brazil and bound for England. Reminiscent of the novel, Hatchet, the pilot has an attack and dies while trying to save the plane from crashing. After the plane explodes, the four are on their own in the Amazon Jungle. They survive for several days using their wits and their knowledge but have no idea how they will get home. The longer they are in the jungle, the more evidence they find that someone has been there before them. Their only hope is to find someone who can help them get to the nearest city so that they can get home.

The Explorer isn't all that unique as a survival story, but backstories of the main characters are well-developed. There is some humor and lots of adventure making this story an enjoyable read. Overall, a good book for middle grade readers.

I really liked this book. It's a good pick for kids who are looking for a book about kids surviving against the odds. I loved the themes and learned a lot about creatures in the Amazon. Highly recommend it!

I love all of Rundell's other books but when I began this one I was extremely disappointed. The writing style just isn't as good and the characters weren't as touching. If I hadn't started the book with as much expectation I might have liked it but even the plot wasn't nearly as interesting.
It doesn't strike me as a very typical book of the author and I didn't like it.
NOT WORTH READING!!!