STORM RUNNERS: ERUPTION by Roland Smith

Finally, STORM RUNNERS book #3 has arrived.  I can't remember a more anticipated book as far as my 7th grade students are concerned.  After reading book #1 and #2 to them this year, they are all fighting over who gets book #3 first.  I ended that debate by announcing I get it first which meant I needed to finish it in record time or risk a riot when school resumed after the weekend.

ERUPTION is everything I could have hoped for in the conclusion of the series.  After surviving Hurricane Emily in Florida, Chase Masters and his father John Masters are headed to a new disaster.  The circus family they met in Florida has people in Mexico running the winter circus circuit.  News of an earthquake has Chase and John forming a rescue team to help the Rossi family as well as the family of Tomas who also works for John Masters.

The earthquake has destroyed most of the roads in and out of the area, and to make matters worse, a volcano is spewing ash and toxic gases over the area.  Chase and his father split their group in two and head in two directions looking for the people they hope to rescue.  Both groups run into difficulties as they discover damaged circus vehicles trapped in earthquake fissures, human and animal casualties, and the possibility of escaped lions, tigers, and bears.

Fans of Roland Smith's STORM RUNNERS and STORM RUNNERS: THE SURGE should be satisfied with the way he wraps up the adventure series.  There is plenty of action right up to the end, and I'm not ruling out a return of some of these characters in a future book or series.