The Explorer by Katherine Rundell
The Explorer by Katherine Rundell is a middle grade adventure story involving four children who crash land in the Amazon jungle. Fred, Con, Lila and Max are on a small plane traveling across Brazil in a small plane when their pilot dies and they crash land in Amazon. Surviving the crash is one thing, but now they must survive the jungle to make it back to safety and civilization.
Each character in the story has a bit of their own background and contribution to the narrative. Fred and Con most notably. Originally from England, Fred lives with his father who is constantly busy with work, more so since the passing of Fred’s mother. Fred longs for adventure, exploration, and validation from his father. Con, also from England, has lived her life passed around from family to family and currently lives with her great-aunt. Con’s transformation from more of a socialite to adventurer is most profound. Lila and Max are siblings originally from Portugal. Their parents are scientists. Max is only five years old, and Lila is mostly consumed with keeping Max alive at any cost necessary.
Early on, the children face many challenges to survive and in that endeavor come across a shelter and other odd things that lets them know they are not the first to cross these parts. Fred has read about many past explorers and their expeditions, so his mind runs wild with possibilities. Realizing that they cannot stay nor survive long in the jungle, the children make a raft to take down the Amazon River with their key destination to be Manaus, Brazil. Along their journey, they come across a secluded hidden city, but quickly find they are not alone. The oddities they saw early are the result of the Explorer standing before them. They are first met with aggression and hostility, but the Explorer quickly softens teaching them survival skills and eventually gives them the opportunity to escape the jungle and return to Manaus in order to save Max’s life.
Notable quotes and mentions:
“Inside, Fred was hunger and hope and wire. It was just that there had never yet been a chance to prove it; his father had always insisted so unswervingly on clean shoes and rebellious eyebrows. But Fred’s mind was quick, with sharp edges. He wanted more from the world that it had yet given” (30).
“‘I just liked the idea that there’s still things that we don’t know. At school it’s the same thing, every day. I like that it might be all right to believe in large, mad, wild things’” (80).
In the chapter titled “Con” the characters and readers learn more of Con’s history and why she is the way she is. She reveals that her father died in a war, that her mother died when she was three, that she lived with a foster family, and currently lives with a Great Aunt who sends her away over the summer. Con believes no one will care that she is missing. (Spoiler - the Great Aunt does care, and readers see their reunion at the end of the story).
“‘The real world is where you feel most real’” (161).
When meeting the Explorer, he offers to help the children return to civilization if they promise never to reveal the ancient city they have found. Fred, who seeks something that will give him attention from his father, refuses to promise. Fred is adamant that Explorers are heroes and that this place should be made known to the world. In that exchange, the Explorer tells Fred, “‘Heroes don’t exist, boy–they’re inventions made up of newsprint and quotable lines and photogenic mustaches’” (171). The children learn later that the Explorer had been one of these “heroes” as Fred would have called him. However, experience has revealed to him that he may have destroyed more than he preserved. The reason he wants to keep the city secret is to preserve the jungle environment and protect the indigenous people from man’s destructive bent. All of this is revealed more in the chapter titled “The Trap”.
“‘You should always dress as if you might be going to the jungle. You never know when you might meet an adventure’” (200).
The Explorer makes some sort of strong liquid that has an effect similar to alcohol on the body. In the chapter titled “Twice-Fried Oiseau Spectacle”, the Explorer drinks much of this drink to become intoxicated and reveals to the children more of his background. He also used to have an indigenous wife and child, but they both died - which is revealed late on page 248.
“‘Take risks!’ said the explorer. ‘That’s the thing to do. Get to know what fear feels like. Get to know how to maneuver around it. But!’ [...] ‘make sure the risks you take aren’t taken to impress someone else’” (227).
“‘You don’t have to be in a jungle to be an explorer,’ he said. ‘Every human on this earth is an explorer. Exploring is nothing more than the paying of attention, writ large. Attention. That’s what the world asks of you. If you pay ferocious attention to the world, you will be as safe as it is possible to be’” (255).
There are few mentions of maggots growing out of the Explorer’s skin - so if you have squeamish readers, maybe make a note of that.
When Max gets sick from the bite of bullet ants, the Explorer rushes into action to help save him. He is committed to not letting Max die like his son unfortunately did.
“‘Look after the things you love or else you don’t deserve to love anything’” (290).
“‘You are right to be afraid. Be brave anyway’” (314).
Readers will absolutely love the twists and turns of this adventure as the characters face challenge after challenge - physically and mentally. Parents will be happy to know that there is minimal profanity, the use of damn on page 102, the use of “arses” on page 222, and the use of hell on page 224, and there are good themes about adventure, good risk taking, and ultimately friendship.
