Wild River by P. J. Petersen.
This is a super quick read with all the action taking place in one short day or long from our protagonist's perspective. Ryan is forced to go with his older brother Tanner kayaking down the Boulder river for a day of fun followed by a night of camping. He rather stay home playing his video games. The first rapids are not bad but when they hit a major bump Ryan is forced to figure how to find help before it is to late. In an odd turn of events his video game playing skills would become very resourceful.
The entire time I was reading this book I kept thinking about Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Petersen's book is the same premise- young boy in the wild trying to survive- but while in Hatchet it takes over a week for Brian to be rescued in Wild River the entire action takes place in less than a day. Predictable story of the "boy versus wild" type.
