“Jungle of Bones” by Ben Mikaelsen.
Scholastic Press, New York, 2014, 211 pages, Grades 6-8.
Coming-of-age stories are usually filled with angst and turmoil. Adolescents are trying to figure out what is happening to their changing bodies and developing desires for independence. The trouble is that adolescence is a time filled with abrupt starts and stops. Prudence, the ability to make reasoned judgments, is not highly developed in most teenagers.
Ben Mikaelsen has a long and distinguished career in writing books detailing these issues. In his latest book, “Jungle of Bones,” Mikaelsen introduces us to the struggles of 14-year-old Dylan Barstow during this crucial life phase.
With his father recently killed while reporting a news story in the Sudan, Dylan is angry and takes this hostility out on his kind mother. Not knowing what else to do, she asks her ex-Marine Corps brother, Todd, to try to straighten out Dylan. It is not an easy task.
Dylan is angry at his recently deceased father. Why did he have to go on an international reporting assignment in a dangerous country? His feelings overwhelm him and he takes it out on his mother and his school.
Dylan takes a car for a joy ride and wrecks it. Now he is in so much trouble that the court tells him to go live with his strict uncle, or go to jail. Dylan continues to blame everyone for his problems. His Uncle Todd is sick of his whining and bluntly tells him so. He tells Dylan they are going on an adventure to Papua New Guinea to look for the B-17 flown in WWII by the boy’s grandfather that crashed in the jungle during combat.
Dylan thinks this is the stupidest idea he has ever heard. But Uncle Todd is unbending. After two weeks of hard physical training, they fly to New Guinea. For the first time in his life, Dylan can’t play video games and shut out the world with his musical headphones. They join a group of Americans looking for crashed American bombers. Their path goes through a massive jungle and the adults warn Dylan to never leave the trail or to take off his backpack.
Dylan decides the adults don’t know what they are talking about and plunges into the jungle. He puts on his headphones to listen to his comforting rap music. Soon, he is totally lost and can’t find his way back. Life has suddenly become real for Dylan. Belligerent willfulness has gotten him lost in a dangerous jungle. He sees that he should have heeded the numerous pieces of advice the group had given him. Maybe others can teach him something. In desperation, he cries out for help in the middle of the jungle. What happens?
Is Dylan saved? What does he learn about truthfulness and honesty? Why do Dylan’s problems seem to overwhelm him at times? What happens to him when he reaches out for help? How does he learn the invaluable lesson that no man is an island unto himself?
To find out the answers to these and other questions, go to the library and check out “Jungle of Bones” by Ben Mikaelsen.
Mikaelsen has won numerous awards for his exciting books about teenagers being forced to face themselves during very trying and dangerous situations. This book, like many of his other works, shows an immature teenager struggling with rebellion, anger and self-acceptance. Dylan has to learn that he is not the center of existence and that the love of his family and friends is what he actually needs. It is a hard lesson for a stubborn boy to learn. By the end of the story, the penny has dropped with a thunk. I hope you get a chance to read this exciting tale.
