by Ele Fountain
Published by Pushkin Press
Pushkin Children's Books
A Sarah Odedina Book
Cover illustration & design: Thy Bui
Can you imagine being a young girl & having five new schools in five years?
Well, that's Bea's life right now.
She's starting 9th grade & still gets an annoyingly familiar feeling of first day butterflies in her stomach.
Now imagine that 5th new school being in the completely fascinating but remote communities of the arctic, about as far away from your previous life as you can fathom, in every way.
Bea isn't thrilled about the fact that this is her life but she knows it comes with the territory when your Dad's a well-respected geologist.
One of the best things - in Bea's mind - is that her Dad is also a pilot & can use a small company aircraft.
To Bea, going flying with her father was the perfect Saturday. She loved it & together they'd explore the icy, vast arctic areas that were so empty but SO full of character, traditions & culture.
With her love for all things adventure-related, Bea grew up absorbing practical knowledge & skills like using a compass, understanding weather & even aircraft, but she could never guess how many skills would be utilised simultaneously in her future.
In a land where elders & their extended families have lived for generations, seeing strangers is rare. Bea just wants to get through school days without any drama or fuss. She tries to avoid typically girly stuff, but a day out shopping for hiking boots, skull leggings & a fleece jacket with her mum was bearable. Maybe things would be ok there, only time will tell.
Bea's new school experience isn't a fun one but she is very capable & diverts her optimistic energy to learn, focus on new things & plan trips with her dad.
Yutu, an Inuit boy, knows the arctic as his home - his ONLY home. His life is almost a photo-negative of Bea's. He also has some non-traditional interests like computer games but he's really not as keen as some of his friends.
He grew up learning from the Elders, not just his family. They supported Yutu entirely & without question after tragedy took away his parents. Ever since, he's lived with his Grandma in her cabin style house where she still makes traditional mittens amongst other things.
It's very old & basic. Nobody knows how much longer the place can even survive - with the surroundings warming up to the point of danger. The seals have already shifted further north to find colder waters.
They met through such unusual circumstances but Bea, Yutu & grandma would form a connection like nothing Bea had experienced before, especially in such a short time. How can two young strangers rescue each other?
A strong-minded youngster, perhaps with maturity beyond his years, he set out to prove his ability to provide for his community & especially grandma. Will Yutu's determination pay off? Does mother nature & the land decide the outcome or do unexpected challenges get in the way?
In this land of snow & ice, how does Hester the cat factor in? Everything comes together in such an unexpected way & completely takes us along for the adventure.
Inuit people live in harmony with the land with respect, often diverting their thoughts away from the surrounding world's usually predominant greed & relentless corporate power struggles.
A fresh, lively writing style with perfect pace invites us into this book & we want to stay.
I didn't want this story to end.
In this book, the environmental message is there 100% & is carefully wrapped with skilful, subtle style.
Another fantastic story beautifully crafted by Ele Fountain & brought to us by Pushkin Press. Bravo!
1st photo: my own
Banner & Cover image: Pushkin Press
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