The Maze

September 1, 1998
Gr. 6^-12. Being shuffled through numerous foster homes turns essentially good-hearted Rick Walker into an angry teen. Minor scrapes with the law eventually land him before a judge who asks the boy who he really is. Unable to respond, Rick is sent to a horrible detention center to come up with an answer. When threatened by fellow inmates, Rick escapes and ends up in "The Maze," a treacherous labyrinth of deep canyons and tall spires in Utah's Canyonlands National Park. Taken in by an amiable loner, Rick learns about hang gliding, preserving wildlife, and, inevitably, being a responsible young man. Hobbs' leisurely paced plot moves along steadily throughout most of the story, infusing a nice lesson on the endangered condor and well-crafted parallels between the elusive bird and Rick's character. The short, singular-focus chapters make for easy reading, and the climactic scenes create enough momentum to make this an entertaining and satisfying adventure. ((Reviewed September 1, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)

October 1, 1998
Gr 6-9-Fourteen-year-old Rick Walker feels that his life is a maze. He's been bounced around from one foster family to another and is sent to a detention center for hard-core juvenile offenders after committing a petty offense. After he reports corruption at the facility, the boy is forced to flee for his life and ends up in an isolated part of Utah's canyon country, near an area called the Maze. Here he forms a friendship with Lon, a biologist who is trying to reintroduce condors into the wild. The two work together, observing and assisting the birds, and Lon teaches Rick to hang glide. When they run afoul of a pair of nasty antigovernment types who are hiding a cache of weapons in the area, their lives are placed in danger. Certain elements of the plot are pretty conventional, appearing in countless young adult novels (troubled teen runs away and finds redemption with wise friend in a remote area). What sets this book apart is the inclusion of fascinating details about the condors and hang gliding, especially the action-packed description of Rick's first solo flight above the canyons in the face of an approaching thunderstorm. Many young readers will find this an adventure story that they can't put down.-Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL

January 1, 1999
Rick Walker, product of too many foster homes, is sentenced to serve time at a youth detention center near Las Vegas. In danger from other inmates, he escapes, eventually finding refuge with a bird biologist in the canyons of southwestern Colorado. Hobbs spins an engrossing yarn, blending adventure with a strong theme, advocating the need for developing personal values.

(Copyright 1999 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)