Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Xtreme Cold-Weather Survival Stories for Teens


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Cover art for FORGE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 19, 2010

"A good match with Russell Freedman's Washington at Valley Forge (2008). (appendix, glossary, acknowledgments) (Historical fiction. 10 & up)"
At the end of Chains (2008), Isabel rescues her friend Curzon from Bridewell Prison and rows away from Manhattan in their escape from slavery. Read full book review >
Cover art for NO SAFE PLACE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 1, 2010

"Eminently memorable. (Fiction. 12 & up)"
Fifteen-year-old Abdul, an Iraqi Kurd, has escaped war-torn Baghdad and traveled for four months across six countries only to hit a dead-end in the Jungle in Calais, a community of migrants trying to survive in squalid shanties with winter coming. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE SELECTED
CHILDREN'S
Released: July 20, 2010

"Constantly gripping, always fascinating and completely compelling. (Science fiction. YA)"
Both a prequel and a sequel to Sharp North (2006), this multiple-time-period dystopia can stand on its own for readers willing to accept some confusion until the world of the novel emerges. Read full book review >
Cover art for NORTHERN EXPOSURES
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 22, 2008

"Still, this novel will be a great fit for Gary Paulsen fans and demonstrates a profound respect for wildlife. (Fiction. 9-13)"
Thirteen-year-old Kevin hasn't a clue how to take photographs, but by accident and then deceit he wins first prize in a photo contest: a trip to Manitoba to photograph polar bears in the wild. Read full book review >
Cover art for WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 15, 2008

"EWSLUGp2000. (Nonfiction. 8-12)"
The turning point of the American War of Independence came when the Continental Army emerged from the "starving winter" at Valley Forge as a "tested and toughened" fighting force. Read full book review >
Cover art for FIRST LIGHT
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 26, 2007

"Thoroughly enjoyable arctic adventure. (Fiction. 9-12)"
With the impending threat of global warning as an ominous backdrop, teens from very different worlds find they have much in common. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE WHITE DARKNESS
CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 2007

A teenager's coming of age undergoes particularly harsh annealing in this intense, inwardly focused survival tale. Read full book review >
Cover art for HOW TO SURVIVE IN ANTARCTICA
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 1, 2006
by Lucy Jane Bledsoe, photographed by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

"Armchair travelers will be pleased. (glossary, timeline) (Nonfiction. 10-12)"
In this entertaining, if episodic, set of observations, Bledsoe imparts techniques learned during no fewer than three trips to the Antarctic—from spotting whales and building a quick shelter of snow to using an outdoor waste bucket in subzero weather. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE WINTER ROAD
CHILDREN'S
Released: May 31, 2006

"Educators will appreciate the non-stereotypical teenage female character and could successfully pair this novel with Gary Paulsen's Hatchet in a thematic unit on survival. (Fiction. 12-15)"
Weather through the initially chilly intra-familial relationships, tinny dialogue and unfamiliar-sounding names to learn how Willa Raedl, 17, survives her plane crash in a snowy wilderness. Read full book review >
Cover art for ICE DRIFT
CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 2005

"The lack of tension and the uneasy mixture of story and information hamper what has obvious potential, but the plot will attract readers, and the tear-jerking conclusion will satisfy those who go with the floe. (Inuit glossary, author's note) (Fiction. 8-12)"
When a 50-foot-high iceberg crashes into their ice floe, 14-year-old Alika and his younger brother Sulu are separated from land and home. Read full book review >
Cover art for ANTARCTICA
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 1, 2004

"A worthy introduction to a fascinating subject. (timeline, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 9-14)"
A solid history of Antarctic exploration takes readers from the times when it was known simply as Terra Australis Incognita to the present—and beyond. Read full book review >
Cover art for AFTER THE LAST DOG DIED
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2003

This liberally illustrated survival tale makes reading as compelling as any of the recent accounts of Ernest Shackleton's contemporaneous ventures. Read full book review >
Cover art for BLIZZARD!
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 1, 2000

"This is skillfully done: humorous, jaw-dropping, thought-provoking, and chilling. (index) (Nonfiction. 9-14)"
In the same format as his Newbery Honor title The Great Fire (1995), Murphy brings the blizzard of 1888 to life. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE TRANSFORMATION
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 19, 2000
by Mette Newth, translated by Faith Ingwerson

Set in the harsh and unforgiving environment of 15th-century Greenland, this is a story of two people from vastly different cultures coming to love and depend on each other. Read full book review >
Cover art for SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD
CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 1999

"The black-and-white photos, taken mostly on glass plates by the expedition's photographer, Frank Hurley, survived along with the men and are of exceptional quality. (maps, not seen, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)"
PLB 0-517-80014-4 Armstrong (The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan, 1996, etc.) narrates the incredible survival saga of Ernest Shackleton, who with a crew of 27 attempted to cross the Antarctic continent in 1914, and ended up trapped in their ship in the ice pack for seven months. Read full book review >