In the Heart of the Canyon

Author:  Elizabeth Hyde

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf
Publish Date: 2009
Pages: 336
ISBN No.: 978-0307263674
Genre: Adventure
Sub Genre:
Reader’s Annotation:
Twelve people, all strangers, see their lives changing forever as they undertake a white-water rafting trip down the Colorado River into the Grand Canyon.
Summary:
JT Maroney, veteran river guide, is ready to take his 125th trip deep into the heart of the Grand Canyon where it is scorching hot and water levels are rising along the Colorado River. JT thinks he's seen it all before, but this trip will change him forever. For the next two weeks his twelve passengers, mostly strangers to one another and certainly to him, will paddle, swim and ride the rapids, sleep under the stars mesmerized by the beauty and the drama of the environment. As they learn more about each other, perhaps, more than ever wanted to know, and experience a life changing adventure. As the trip gets underway, relationships and loyalty develop, often between unlikely members of the group.  These connections will be evolving constantly in the most unusual ways.
Evaluation:
While this book is not one I would normally read for I do not have a background in adventure fiction it is a good adventure read.  This book is a well crafted novel and Hyde develops her complicated characters, dissecting their problems along the way.  It is a book about humanity and the angst that often accompanies it set in the majesty of the Grand Canyon and on the rapids of a potentially deadly river.
Why I Would Include It:
In all fairness to the author I would include this book for it is an interesting and exciting read.  Normally, not my cup of tea but then it offers a nice respite from what I usually read.
Rating: 3