43 pages • 1 hour read
Katherine RundellA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Fred awakens and finds Max missing. He wakes Lila and Con, who panic and begin calling for Max. They suddenly hear Max giggling in the bushes, and Lila threatens to hit him if he does anything like that again. Max confesses he shared some of the last pineapple with a small monkey-like creature, and he takes the others to see it. They find a baby sloth surrounded by vultures, who also gather around its dead mother. Lila coaxes the baby sloth onto her arm and brings it back to camp, where it quickly takes to her and eats some pineapple out of her hand. Lila decides to name the baby sloth Abacaxi, which is the Portuguese word for “pineapple.” Fred is surprised to hear Lila never had pets at home because she seems like a natural at caring for animals.
The jungle is full of surprises, and Max discovers some monkeys who have learned to use ant paste to deter bees and take honey from their hive. He is thrilled to tell the others about it, but it takes time to convince them that he actually saw such a thing. Max pulls the group across the clearing to where he found the beehive high in a tree, and everyone watches as three monkeys appear. One of the monkeys puts its hands on an ant colony until it’s covered in ants, then squishes them into a paste. The monkey then reaches into the beehive and takes a honeycomb out without being stung. Fred grows excited and does the same thing, allowing ants to crawl on him and then making a paste. In his haste, Fred forgets to test the tree for rot. He climbs up quickly and breaks a branch, nearly falling to the ground. Con bravely comes up after Fred, wanting to ensure he doesn’t fall again, and the two scale the tree together.
When they reach the beehive, Fred puts his hand in and grabs several chunks of honeycomb. He notices something red tied up in the tree and decides to grab it. Fred discovers it is a pouch with a tobacco tin from England, a penknife, and a small map inside. The map shows the Amazon River, two tributaries, and a larger X in the corner. Fred decides to climb up to the canopy to see if he can figure out what the X represents, and Con reluctantly climbs up after him. They are floored when they see the view from the top, but the river winds too much to tell what the X is marking. Fred tucks the honeycombs into his shirt, and he and Con climb down. The group shares the rich and sweet honeycombs, agreeing that it’s one of the best things they’ve ever tasted.
Fred awakens to a thunderstorm and water dripping on his head. Lila and Con argue over the map and which way to go, and Fred soon joins in the argument. Con gets angry and claims to be suffering more than anyone else. Lila insults Con and instantly regrets it, then admits that she has nightmares about her mother trying unsuccessfully to save her. Con and Fred admit they have nightmares too. Con confesses that she lives with her great-aunt, who sends her away every summer. Her parents died years before, and the foster family she originally stayed with didn’t want her. Con believes that nobody even wants to find her. Fred thinks about hugging Con, but his father taught him never to hug, so he punches her shoulder instead. The group agrees to set off in the raft the next morning.
The next morning, while Lila and Fred prepare the raft, the fire at the campsite catches the wind and starts a forest fire. Con comes running out of the woods, but nobody has seen Max. They find him stranded in a tree that is sure to burn, and Lila speeds over to it and climbs up after him. Both are stuck at the top of the tree as it catches fire, and they gather the courage to jump into the river below. Fred and Con realize that both Lila and Max are being carried downstream, and Fred swims after them. He manages to catch Max, but the current is strong, and Fred can’t keep up with it. Con maneuvers the raft out toward Fred and Max, who safely board, and Lila pops up moments later. The group realizes their den and the clearing are all gone now, and they have no choice but to ride the raft down the river without any supplies. Frank realizes the map was in his pocket and is now ruined, but Con has a photographic memory and remembers it perfectly. She guides the group down the river, and it occurs to everyone that their lives could be lost at any moment.
The group finds a bank on which to camp for the night, and the next day they encounter pink dolphins in the river. Fred dives in, approaching the most curious dolphin. He feels a thrill like nothing he’s ever experienced and wants to remember the moment forever. Fred again wishes his father was there to see him. Later, Lila sees a fig tree along the river, and the group stops to eat. That night, everyone except Max is awake, and they marvel at the wide expanse of stars above them as Abacaxi cuddles Fred’s leg. After four days on the river, Fred starts to feel like they must be close to the X on the map. Sure enough, the river winds into a lake and a huge cliff. Fred suspects the cliff is what the X is for, and Lila thinks about her fear of heights.
Fred and Lila decide that they must try to climb the cliff, even though nobody wants to (especially Max). Fred offers to carry Max on his back, and the others tie Max securely to him with vines. Lila secures her sloth to her back, and the girls follow Max and Fred up the cliff. Fred moves slowly with the added weight to carry, but he successfully navigates his way to the top. The feeling of triumph is incomparable as the group stands at the top of the cliff realizing what they have just accomplished. They enter a thick brush and come out into a clearing that is surrounded by stone walls. Within the clearing are the ruins of houses and four sculptures (a woman, a man, a panther, and a monkey). Suddenly, Lila realizes that she and the others have stumbled upon an ancient, ruined city. Just then, a man approaches with a knife and warns the kids to stop what they are doing.
As the group becomes more of a unit and learns to trust one another, they begin to discover the power of Hardship as a Catalyst for Friendship. Lila was always fiercely loyal and protective of her brother, willing to do anything to keep him safe and healthy, and this trait starts to show itself in Fred and Con as the days go by. While Max initially irritated them, they grow fond and protective of the five-year-old boy, who is just as driven as they are to survive. Max is, in a sense, the “wild card” of the group, as he is always making elusive discoveries, going missing, or trying to eat things he shouldn’t. Max originally comes across as immature and unpredictable, but these traits turn out to have their benefits as well as their downsides. Max’s sense of adventure indicates that he has led him to one of the group’s most important discoveries: the baby sloth, later named Abacaxi. In adopting the sloth, Lila shows the full extent of her nurturing instincts. Despite being a child, Lila has the ability to care for not just her brother, but also a vulnerable animal.
Alongside these changes, Con becomes part of the group and starts to drop her guard around her new companions. She bravely climbs up a tree to save Fred, even though she barely knows him and has never climbed a tree before. Acts of courage and sacrifice from each member of the group are part of what bond them together and allow them to trust one another. The group itself becomes less anxious and more confident in their ability to survive with each passing hour. Con also admits to having little family back home and feeling out of place in her old life, which explains why she was so abrasive and guarded when she first met the others. When the group climbs the cliff together, Fred carrying Max on his back, they evolve from random people who had no choice but to work together to an “expedition” comprised of explorers on the hunt for a way home. Climbing the cliff is also a metaphor for Perseverance and the Drive to Survive—qualities that have carried the children this far and that they will depend on as their journey continues. After scaling the cliff successfully, they realize that they can overcome any challenge if they work together. They become bonded through survival and vow to meet on the outside someday, indicating that hope is fueling their journey home.
The Amazon River is a source of beauty and mystery, as well as a major obstacle for the children to overcome. Their relationship with this ancient river begins when they are all desperate for water and dive into the cold river, risking being attacked or eaten but enjoying the thrill of being totally immersed in the natural environment. The river and the rainforest are personified as characters with their own motivations; the rainforest itself is both a challenge and a provider, but as the explorer later says, it requires the children to pay close attention to everything around them. In doing so, they learn how to extract honeycombs from a beehive and navigate the rushing waters of the Amazon River. It is also during their time on the river that it truly sinks in how close they are to dying at any moment, and how crucial it is for them to work together. The human versus nature motif carries throughout the novel and takes on extended forms as the story progresses.