"Boys, dogs, and adventure in the frozen North: classic appeals are served here in a well-told historical novel." -BCCB, 10/91
"Fans of Gary Paulsen's Woodsong will enjoy Turner's fictional portrayal of the challenges of the harsh region." -Kay Weisman, Booklist 11/91
"Jean-Paul's successful rites of passage may strike a response in readers who enjoyed Gardiner's Stone Fox ... Paulsen's Dogsong, and Woodsong." -Kirkus Reviews, 10/91
"The empathetic characters provide an exciting and warm-hearted story." -The Horn Book Guide, 12/91
For someone afraid of the dark, living in the Arctic is a severe test of courage. There, the sun doesn't shine all winter.
Jean-Paul Ardoin, a young Canadian boy, struggles to hide his fear and adjust to life in the Northwest Territories of Canada, where he is taunted and excluded from activities by a group of Inuit boys due to his small size and a limp caused by a birth defect.
When Jean-Paul finally succeeds in impressing the boys with the tricks he's taught his husky, Sasha, they agree to let him join their club, the Ice Patrol. As part of the initiation, they force him into a deserted igloo rumored to be haunted, where he must remain for two hours.
The forced imprisonment, with no light and only Sasha for company, proves to be just the beginning of the most serious challenges to face Jean-Paul in the harsh Arctic environment. (Ages 8-12)
