Trudi Trueit

LUSH JUNGLES AND SWEEPING SAVANNAS, HOME TO ELUSIVE MOUNTAIN GORILLAS AND FIERCE BIG CATS. Unforgiving, endless deserts that may be hiding more than meets the eye. An adventurer's dream come true for the students aboard the Explorer Academy ship Orion. But no sooner do they arrive than danger strikes again, and this time, one of Cruz's closest friends becomes the unintended victim. In The Star Dunes, the nail-biting fourth book in the Explorer Academy series, Cruz and his fellow recruits tackle challenging missions to dispense life-saving medication to gorillas, thwart pangolin poachers, and capture images of the last known cheetahs in Namibia—all the while discovering that protecting the world's threatened species is a dangerous business. Things turn deadly for Lani, Sailor, Emmett, and Cruz as they search for the fourth piece of Cruz's mom's cipher. Cruz knows it's not going to be easy, but will an unexpected guest bring a disastrous end to the search? After all, in this global game of cat and mouse, one mistake may cost you the ultimate price.