New York Times bestselling author Natalie D. Richards's middle grade debut about a group of four classmates forced to navigate the wilderness for an extra credit project with nothing but the pages of a survival handbook—and each other—to save them. When classmates Baxter, Abigail, Turner and Emerson break a school rule, they’re forced to travel to the middle of nowhere for an extra credit project. They think things can’t get much worse. After all, how will learning to survive in the wilderness help them stay out of trouble in school? What starts off as a weekend of team building takes a scary turn when their instructor goes missing and they are given nothing but pages of a survival guide to complete a series of challenges. They soon learn the woods around them have unexpected surprises. Will they discover a way to work together to find their teacher and overcome the dangers of winter in the mountains? A recommended choice for classroom discussions on earth science and educators looking for survival books for kids.
Natalie D. Richards Book order






- 2023
- 2023
Four Found Dead
- 332 pages
- 12 hours of reading
The last show has ended, but the nightmare is just beginning. Tonight, Riverview Theaters is closing forever, the last remaining business in a defunct shopping mall. The moviegoers have left, and Jo and her six coworkers have the final shift, a shift that quickly takes a dark turn. First a stranger arrives with a chilling accusation. Then the power goes out and their manager disappears, along with the keys to the lobby doors and the theater safe, where the crew's phones are locked each shift. The crew's tension turns to terror when Jo discovers the dead body of one of her co-workers. Now their only chance to escape the murderer in their midst is through the dark, shuttered mall. With its boarded-up exits and disabled fire alarms, the complex is filled with hiding places for both pursuer and pursued. In order to survive this night, Jo and her friends must trust one another, navigate the sprawling ruins of the mall, and outwit a killer before he kills them all.
- 2020
Five Total Strangers
- 320 pages
- 12 hours of reading
Desperate to reach her grieving mother, Mira joins a group of college students driving home after their flight is stranded, but the road conditions are not the only mortal danger they face.
- 2017
We All Fall Down
- 368 pages
- 13 hours of reading
"Brought together by shared history and mental health issues, teenagers Theo and Paige try to break the spell cast by a haunted pedestrian bridge"--
- 2016
One Was Lost
- 320 pages
- 12 hours of reading
Sera must find the truth—before a killer finds her. Murder, justice, revenge... So not a part of the plan when Sera set out on her senior trip. She figured a hike through the woods would be safe, uneventful. Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. These are the words scrawled on their wrists when they wake up in the middle of nowhere. Their supplies are destroyed. Half the group is gone. And they find four dolls acting out a murder—dolls dressed just like them. Suddenly it's clear; they're being hunted. And with the only nice word on her wrist, Sera falls under suspicion.
- 2015
My Secret to Tell
- 311 pages
- 11 hours of reading
Emerson May is "the good girl." She's the perfect daughter, the caring friend, the animal shelter volunteer. But when her best friend's brother breaks into her room, his hands covered in blood, she doesn't scream or call the cops. Because when Deacon smiles at her, Emmie doesn't want to be good. The whole town believes notorious troublemaker Deacon is guilty of assaulting his father. Only Emmie knows a secret that could set him free. But if she follows her heart, she could be trusting a killer... You can't always trust the boy next door.
- 2015
Gone Too Far
- 336 pages
- 12 hours of reading
Send me a name. Make someone pay. Piper Woods can't wait to graduate. To leave high school--and all the annoying cliques--behind. But when she finds a mysterious notebook filled with the sins of her fellow students, Piper's suddenly drowning in their secrets. And she's not the only one watching... An anonymous text invites Piper to choose: the cheater, the bully, the shoplifter. The popular kids with their dirty little secrets. And with one text, Piper can make them pay. But the truth can be dangerous...
- 2013
Six Months Later
- 326 pages
- 12 hours of reading
She has everything she's ever wanted. But not her memory...When Chloe fell asleep in study hall, it was the middle of May. When she wakes up, snow is on the ground and she can't remember the last six months of her life. Before, she'd been a mediocre student. Now, she's on track for valedictorian and being recruited by Ivy League schools. Before, she never had a chance with super jock Blake. Now he's her boyfriend. Before, she and Maggie were inseparable. Now her best friend won't speak to her.What happened to her? Remembering the truth could be more dangerous than she knows...

