Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto for the ARC of this!

Part choose your own adventure, game of chance, and survival guide, this is a lot of fun! My kids had a good time trying it out, even though we cheated a little with a digital spinner app since we didn’t have a real one (we also tried numbering spots on the wheel and having Siri choose a number between one and one hundred which is probably closer to the “real” spinner that would be included) We played two paths through to getting killed off and they are excited to read more.

When I was younger, I loved Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books. What am I saying? I still love them now! The excitement of being able to choose what you do in a story and being able to fail (usually several times) before ‘beating’ the books is wonderful and adds a new dimension to your reading.

I had excellent results using the previous Spin to Survive title (Frozen Mountain) with a class who were particularly reluctant to read or listen when read to. The ability to choose, as a class, what we would do next sparked their interest and they were fully engaged with the text. Believe me, it was an incredible turn around.

Deadly Jungle is an excellent follow up, providing an engaging narrative for the reader/player (you are hunting for the Lost City of the Jaguar God) and plenty of real life information and survival tips should you ever find yourself stranded in the jungle.

Choices are made in two different ways. Sometimes you will be provided with a traditional CYOA choices, where you will be asked to make a decision and turn to a particular page. Others are a little more risky! The book comes with a compass-like spinner, which you use to make random decisions. These can help you continue your adventure or put a rather abrupt end to it!

The narrative is thrilling, with plenty of jeopardy and made me feel as if I was in an Indiana Jones film. My favourite demise was forgetting to check my boots and being stung by a scorpion. The layout of the books combines Tintin style illustrations (beautifully created by R Fresson) with notebook/journal extracts. After playing the game, it’s great to go back and read all the survival tips and information as it’s easy to miss them when you’re lost in the excitement of playing the game.

Spin to Survive: Deadly Jungle is an excellent title for anyone who enjoys CYOA books or has an interest in survival techniques. I know from experience that this will engage the most reluctant of children and it would be a great addition for any classroom.