HORIZON, by Scott Westerfeld

The story: Five teens crash land in what is supposed to the the Arctic--but find themselves stranded in a tropical jungle filled with predatory animals and plants that are out of this world. Literally. Now they have to use their engineering smarts, as well as their fighting skills, to figure out whether they've been transported to another planet...or to another reality...or maybe just to another dimension in some mad scientist's insane scheme...

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG-13; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse G; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (death by mishap; survivor guilt) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: I'm generally a fan of Scott Westerfeld, but this one has the feel of other Scholastic series that seemed to be cranked out at regular intervals in as many installments as possible, stretching a reasonable story far further than it was ever meant to go. Call me a cynic, but after literally 39 volumes of 39 Clues, you know what I mean. At least Westerfeld has tamed his potty mouth for this one. Thankfully.