Love adventure, hi-tech gadgets, and learning made fun? The Explorer Academy brings kids from all over the world to teach them about conservation, mind-blowing tech, and how to safely explore this amazing planet. It’s really cool that the places they mention are real. This hands-on school is tough though. They require integrity, honesty, and a ton of hard work.

But what would a story be without the people? So let me introduce Cruz, the main character and the narrator. He’s surrounded by kids who are as amazingly curious as he is. It’s his relationships with his teammates that really brings this tale to life. It was enjoyable to see how Cruz wasn’t the brightest or the best at everything. There were times he struggled and had to work hard; however, he was an impressive example of compassion and team work.

Another highlight of this book is the importance of family. Not just the family that Cruz was born into, but his best friend and the other students that he works with who become a second family to him.

This book is addicting and full of amazing details. Young readers might not even realize all they’re learning in this easy to read, fast paced story. Be sure to read the appendix, too, because there’s some great info back there. The best part? There are six more books already written in the series. There’s also one on code breaking and an activity challenge. Plus, there’s a new spin off series that chronicles the student’s second year at the Explorer Academy.

Trudi Trueit has been writing almost her whole life. She has written both fiction and non-fiction. On Trudi’s web site, there’s a link for an Explorer Academy web site that has fun stuff for kids to do.

Review of the audiobook

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: A kid’s mom died when he was 7-years-old; a kid previously sprained his knee; a character was in the ocean and had a scary incident where he was pulled under but was able to get away, sprained ankle, mention of blood (a man was pulling him under); a character warns a kid to run away because his life is in danger; the same character had warned a woman but she didn’t listen and died, no details on how she died; three kids locked in a closet, lives in danger; two kids are shot at in a simulator but they thought it was real; a kid is followed by a man; a character is knocked out by being hit on the back of the head; a character and kid are held hostage by a bad guy, lives in danger; a man almost takes a kid hostage; a character is stung several times by a mechanical insect; a character falls over a railing and almost falls.

Sex/Nudity: None

Mature Subject Matter:

School expulsion (for lack of integrity), workplace accident, death of mother, lying, mention of a famous explorer who supposedly said a group of people would make good slaves, mention that some of the original explorers were really conquerors.

Drug/Alcohol Use:

None