Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
"Here's what you need to know: When I get on that airplane tonight, I will never arrive home." Suicidal teen Jane Solis has worked hard currying favor with the doctors in her treatment program in order to earn the privilege of going home for the holidays. But instead of having a joyful reunion with her mother, Jane intends to imbibe a deadly cocktail of drugs in the plane bathroom and join her father, who killed himself five years ago on Christmas. Then the plane crashes on a remote mountain range, leaving Jane and glib snowboarder Paul the only survivors. The temperatures are well below zero, and food and water are at a premium. They struggle to find shelter and seek rescue, but after Paul is badly wounded and Jane has to go on alone, predictably, she realizes just how much she wants to live. The strongest part of the novel is the poignant section leading up to the plane crash, where Jane's cynical voice shines with dark humor: "She's from a don't-open-presents-until-morning family and we are a blow-your-brains-out-before-morning family, so we don't have a lot in common." But after Jane and Paul team up on the frozen landscape, it quickly degenerates into a trite opposites-attract love story, albeit with some good, gritty outdoor-endurance detail. Compelling start, clichd end. (Adventure. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Ever since her father committed suicide, Jane has wanted to take her own life. She is flying away from the institution, where she was supposedly getting help, with enough pills to accomplish her goal. Suddenly, her plane hits a storm and crashes into an empty, freezing wilderness. Now, she and Paul, the only other survivor, must face a seemingly impossible journey if they hope to survive. For years, Jane has wanted to die, but now, life has become something worth fighting for. This debut novel will leave readers holding their breaths from beginning to end. Morel's intense writing style and high-stakes plot delivers, and Jane and Paul are well-constructed characters who become relatable to readers almost immediately. Suspenseful, serious, and cunningly ironic, Survive is a story about a broken girl and the plane crash that saves her life.--Fort, Bethany Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Gr 9 Up-Jane Solis wants to die. Haunted by her father's suicide, and after two failed attempts of her own, she has resolved to end it all on her Christmas flight home from rehab. Before she can follow through with her fatal act, her flight encounters rough weather and crash-lands in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Jane and her seatmate, Paul, are the only survivors. Forced to fight for their lives in the mountains of Montana, the teens confront both their faults and their fears on the harrowing journey back to civilization. Morel weaves a tale focused on what it means to live, not merely survive. Jane and Paul's romantic entanglement is utilized effectively as a counterpoint to the heavy nature of the main conflict. In Jane, teens will find a character worthy of their time.-Colleen Banick, Westport Public Schools, CT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.