MS Review - Off the Rails - middle grade novel

Guide to Categories – MS Review – review of books for older elementary-aged and middle school-aged children

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About the Book

Book: Off The Rails – A Wilderness Survival Adventure

Author: Susan Count

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Just because your cousin jumps from a train in the wilderness doesn’t mean you should too.

After a year of planning, two Texas cousins take their first trip to Montana. When their train stalls, the boys leap from it into the white wilderness, beginning a perilous run for their lives.

As a blizzard hits, the boys spend a miserable night trying not to freeze. They struggle along the tracks to find shelter, but a disaster leaves them exposed to the elements and every famished wild creature.

Frustrated by their too-real situation, Davy and Anderson struggle to endure. Instead of vacationers at a wolf sanctuary, they become players in an unplanned survival experience.

Click here to get your copy!

My MS Review

Count, Susan. Off the Rails: A Wilderness Survival Adventure. Huntsville, TX: Hastings Creation Group, 2026.

My MS Review

Which is more important: doing what your parents expect, or following a cousin who doesn’t follow the rules to keep him safe? That seems to be the premise Susan Count starts with in Off the Rails. At first, I had a problem with this premise; maybe part of me still does, but I realize this is the kind of situation kids face every day. Susan Count does a great job of helping her characters see the consequences of their actions and, possibly, grow from the experience.

The trip is the one of a lifetime for Davy; he’s been saving and planning for a long time. His cousin Anderson is joining him on the adventure. Davy hopes Anderson doesn’t spoil everything, as he tends to do.

The story builds tension and stress to keep the plot moving. The boys act like many preteen boys I have known – think about the mischief that age group can get into.

Off the Rails would be a great addition to a K-12 Christian school library. It is appropriate for upper elementary and middle school children.

I received a complimentary copy of Off the Rails. This is my honest review.

About the Author – Susan Count

Susan Count writes for young readers’ joy and entertainment. She is an Amazon best-selling, award-winning author of the Dream Horse Adventures Series, Dream Pony Riders Series, and Texas Boys Adventures.

She prefers to create stories in a quiet zone. Out her window, her mind wanders through the forest, keeping her grateful and content. Susan writes at a fabulous antique desk that has secret compartments filled with memories, mysteries, and story ideas. As a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and American Christian Fiction Writers, she takes studying the craft of writing seriously.

Susan confesses to being overly fond of brownies and horseback riding on forest trails. She is a lifelong equestrian and owns a Rocky Mountain Horse.

Her newest release, Off The Rails – A Wilderness Survival Adventure, was written for her four grandboys who wanted an adventure of their own. What’s a fairy grandmother to do but wave her magic pen and create.

More from Susan Count

Ten of my novels are horse books for girls. On the rare occasions that I do a book sales table, I’m inevitably asked if I’ve written any books for boys. So, I wrote this two-book series (Texas Boys Adventures) because you asked and kept asking. You and my four grandsons. Finding wholesome books that will engage 8- to 12-year-old boys is a parental challenge.

I’m so old school. I want the kids to keep their childhood for as long as possible. I believe in protecting their young hearts and minds. Give them adventures where they learn to build friendships and be the hero of their own stories. Capture their interest and then

encourage and strengthen them to grow into the arrows they are destined to be.