Two Degrees

Akira is happy to recharge her batteries in the California mountains with her dad and her horse, Dodger.  But things quickly go wrong when she sees smoke from a wildfire.  Suddenly her beautiful day turns into a fiery nightmare.   

Owen helps his family run polar bear tours in Manitoba, Canada.  Lately, the bears have been showing up earlier and staying later in the season, which is good for business, but Owen has never really thought about why this is happening.  When he and a friend get stranded miles from town, all the polar bear facts he spouts on the tour become suddenly more applicable.  They have no transportation, no phone, and they are being stalked by a hungry polar bear.

Natalie and her mom have ridden out hurricanes in their Miami home before, but there is something different about this storm.  As the flood waters quickly rise, Natalie is swept away and must fend for herself in a fight for survival in a raging hurricane.

Three harrowing events in three different parts of North America are connected by climate change.  Warmer, drier summers in California lead to increasingly devastating wildfires.  Warmer temperatures in the frozen north mean it's more difficult for polar bears to find and hunt seals.  And warmer air in the ocean means more powerful and frequent hurricanes.  Two degrees seems like such a small change on a hot day, but the change in the global temperature leaves Akira, Owen, and Natalie fighting for their lives.

Alan Gratz's newest book is sure to be a crowd-pleaser with nonstop survival action from the first chapter all the way through to the end.  The many kids who have been affected by climate disasters will relate to the three protagonists in the story.  Gratz likes to connect seemingly unrelated characters in unexpected ways, and this strategy usually works for me.  It felt a little heavy-handed this time, but I don't think young readers will care.  Hand this to Gratz's normal fans and to the I Survived crowd who are ready for the next step.  Highly recommended!