Down The Rio Tamesi

Down the Rio Tamesi is an adventure story about a trip down a river in Mexico. The river is near where Carlos and his family lived. Carlos is from Mexico, and his father has moved the family to the United States where he works. Carlos feels like an outsider, trying to learn a new culture and make new friends. He feels insecure with the others who shun him at school. He is honored, or feels like a Big Shot as he puts it, when the Science teacher asks him to go down the river since he knows the country. The group encounters difficulties such as rapids, waterfalls, and snakes.The trip, supposed to take four hours, takes three days without food, water, or provisions. Carlos and the other boy go alone to find help when the teacher is injured. Carlos becomes the leader by getting them up a mountain when a flash flood comes through, finding plants to heal the boys wound, and standing up to the boy's bullying.