Since his girlfriend dumped him, Jayden has been avoiding school-and life in general.

When his eccentric uncle Mel invites him to help with his biology research at an Australian university, he figures he has nothing to lose. Once he arrives, he discovers Mel is obsessed with finding a new species of lizard and is determined to be the first to discover it. Unfortunately, this means an expedition into the scorching desert heat of the Australian outback...with the increasingly paranoid Mel and an unfriendly biology student named Natalie. Then disaster strikes, and Jayden and Nat find themselves many miles from civilization fighting for their survival.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don't like to read! Available in Spanish as Desolación.