Ice Island

November 15, 2011
Riveting and atmospheric, this is a tale of teenage Tatum, who becomes lost and separated from her friend on an Alaskan island with only a team of dogs, a few supplies and her instincts to keep her alive. Thirteen-year-old Tatum's dream is to run the Iditarod. She and her mother travel from Nome, Alaska, to a remote, frozen island for her mother's job. There, Tatum meets Cole, a boy who shares her obsession with dog mushing. One morning, they head out with two dog teams for a practice run with Tatum's beloved husky, Bandit, leading her sled. In vivid, crisp prose, the story accelerates as they veer off course and are enveloped in a blinding storm. Cole and Tatum rely on their training and resourcefulness as they face hunger and below-freezing temperatures. One particularly hair-raising event finds them on a frozen river surrounded by cracking ice. Tatum must eventually leave Cole behind and venture on for help alone. With time running out, Tatum has only her courage and her loving trust of the dogs to keep her from succumbing to the harsh elements and her fear. Told a fast-paced third-person, this survival adventure creates an almost otherworldly experience within a treacherous and bracingly beautiful landscape. As a race for survival, this is also an exhilarating sprint through the pages. (author's note, glossary) (Adventure. 9-13)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012

Gr 4-7-The legendary Iditarod serves as both starting point and backbone for this adventure-survival tale. Tatum's family recently moved to Alaska, where her father grew up mushing. The 13-year-old longs to run the Iditarod with him when she's old enough. In the meantime, she hangs out with mushers and learns about the sport and rules for survival in the unforgiving terrain. Tatum strikes up a friendship with Cole, a native Siberian Yupik boy, who is also interested in the sport. The teens take their dog teams out for a run, which goes terribly wrong when a sudden blizzard strands them in the wilderness with little food or supplies. When Cole's sled is damaged and half of their dogs can no longer pull, the teens make the tough choice to separate: Tatum and a team of dogs set off to seek help. Character development is slight, and the narrative initially feels bogged down by many (albeit interesting) facts about the Iditarod; however, some readers may find that a plus. The pace doesn't pick up until Tatum and Cole's peril begins. Shahan knows her territory well and vividly describes the landscape's stark beauty and Tatum's sense of isolation. Heroic dogs, danger, and an accessible writing style add cross-gender appeal.-M. Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2012
Grades 4-7 Accidents and sudden bad weather turn a short dogsled outing into five days of desperate straits for 13-year-old Tatum and a companion. Though eventful enough to keep young fans of survival adventures reading, the plot shares space with nearly continual info dumps as the author enthusiastically shares what she has learned from research and firsthand experience. She touches on sledding, dogs, and their care; Nome and other Alaskan locales; the Iditarod; arctic weather patterns and hazards; native life and culture; local food; wildlife; and dozens of related topics. The resulting mix of adventure and shoehorned data isn't as absorbing an arctic odyssey as Gary Paulsen's Dogsong (1985) or Jean Craighead George's Julie of the Wolves (1972), but readers attuned to the call of the wild will gobble it down like the frozen caribou strips and turkey-skin treats that keep Tatum's dogs running.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2012
When her family moves to Alaska, young Tatum comes to love the brutal weather and the legendary Iditarod. Soon she and Bandit (a retired musher dog), and her friend Cole are caught in a blizzard. Though a hovering wolf dog and blustery winds create some tension, Tatum's protracted journey through deep snow grows tedious for her--and for readers.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)