2013 Truman Possibility 7: Lost in the River of Grass by Ginny Rorby

Okay, I started out this book really getting irritated with the main character, Sarah.  She wasn't happy because she'd moved to a new school with a scholarship from swimming, and no one seemed to like her because she wasn't wealthy like the rest of them.  She got stuck going on a weekend field trip to the Everglades with her science teacher, Mr. Vickers, who was a nice guy who was taking an interest in her and trying to get her involved in order to hopefully make friends.  But it doesn't seem to be happening.  She tries once or twice, but the girls, the AABC's as Sarah calls them, won't give her a chance.  On the first day at the camp, she meets a cute boy named Andy.  He works at the camp, and offers to take Sarah on a ride in the airboat the next day with a picnic.  She's not looking forward to hanging out with the snobby kids from her school, so she agrees. Which means she has to lie to Mr. Vickers the next morning so she can stay back when the rest of the group goes on the tour.
The next morning after the group has left, instead of dressing to be prepared for a day in the swamp, she dresses cute to impress Andy.  This turns out to be a bad idea, because they stop for the picnic, and when they're done eating, they go back and the boat is gone.  Not stolen, just sunk because Andy forgot to plug something back up after he cleaned the boat out.  Now they must trek through the Glades to try to find help.
My irritation with Sarah began when she was so picky about birds or other creatures being eaten in nature.  Okay, it's nature, that's what happens.  Then, when she and Andy are out at the place for the picnic, she is being totally prissy.  Very annoying.  I know she's a city girl, but she's in the swamp, with a "local", what does she expect?  So that whole thing was very annoying the whole time.  As they were hiking she was totally freaked out about everything.  And hey, I can understand, the snakes, and alligators, and all the plants that are sharp enough to cut her, that does suck.  But, man, sometimes I just wanted her to shut up.  And she ended up saving a little duck, that she named Teapot.  Teapot was a fun part of the story, although again she was a bit of a whiner about that whole bit too.  I guess making her so whiny at the start really helps make her transformation at the end after their journey and all the stresses they go through more profound.
I can see this being a favorite for people who like survival stories.  I think all the scary moments sounded pretty realistic without having to like fight off an alligator or any such thing. I have never read Hatchet, but would assume this story is a survival story in the same manner.  Also reminds me of The Raft by S.A. Bodeen as a bit of a survival story.
So in conclusion, not my favorite of all the books, but it did have some good points, and I could see what kind of readers it would attract.