Running Wild

by Michael Morpurgo

Genre: Realistic fiction
Age group: 10-11+

Will's dad died in the army, and it's been haunting his family ever since. Now it's just his mom and himself, and they're living with Will's grandparents in the shadow of his dad's death. But one day, his grandparents suggest that maybe Will and his mom should take a vacation, and relax a little bit. So they travel to the tropics.
But while Will is on the beach taking an elephant ride, the elephant suddenly runs away, into the jungle. Will soon finds out why: A huge tsunami is coming, and it almost certainly will kill everyone still on the beach.
Now Will is in the jungle, with only an elephant and the other animals to keep him company. He bonds particularly with the orangutans he meets—the babies and the mother, and the large male he calls Other One. But with the peace of the jungle comes conflict and chaos from the poachers who want to kill the animals—and the orangutans—and sell them.

In general Michael Morpurgo's style of writing is (in my opinion) really, really good. He writes clearly and simply and also incredibly descriptively—he doesn't overstate things or go into too much depth, but has just the right amount of detail. He shows that in reality, writing is an art. It's actually quite beautiful. I like how the story starts in one place, but by the end, you've been taken to places you never knew would ever end up in. It's not the most predictable of books. I also like how Morpurgo is not afraid to face the hard truth. People do die; the world is not always a wonderful place, and he is very realistic in his stories in that sense. He has written a lot of other good books, including War Horse and Private Peaceful, and many others besides. If you've read Morpurgo's other books and enjoyed them, I encourage you to try this book, and similarly, if you read this and enjoy it, I encourage you to try his other books.