Drone Chase

Gr 7 Up–Ray’s family moves from New York City to the Great Bear Rainforest in Bella Coola, Canada, to take care of his dying grandfather. While Ray misses his friends, he stumbles into a mystery that may allow him to put his passion for drones to use. A rescued orphaned bear cub is missing, though no one believes Ray’s theories about theft and bear poaching. Ray already struggles to fit into his new town, with his neighbors regularly mocking his lack of outdoor instincts. Regardless of what everyone else thinks, Ray is determined to use his drones to rescue the bear cub. Not for the faint of stomach, this book shoves readers right into the action, with a mother bear being killed almost as soon as the story begins. It seems like the author has never been to New York City, since Ray regularly describes it as a place filled with gangs, muggers, and metal detectors. Ray’s grandfather is verbally abusive to Ray and his mother, causing Ray’s mother to leave, only to return a few days later because she is sorry to have abandoned the family. The grandfather never atones for anything. Two characters of the Nuxalk people play integral roles in the story, but their culture is reduced to throwaway details rather than authentic characterization. Two side characters are Korean, and all other characters are coded as white.