storyLines

The dog stared back at them. Most of the other dogs in the pen were howling and making noises that sounded quite like foreign words. They were rattling and stretching their chains. But this dog in front of them was different. he stood there in the dirty snow, as calm as anything, and looked at the boys, at Tom, and then at Johnny, at Tom, then Johnny.

They weren’t really like dog’s eyes at all. At least they weren’t like the eyes of any dogs the boys knew at home. Lots of their friends had dogs, and their aunt had two of them, but all of those dogs had proper dog eyes. But this dog looking at them had eyes that seemed to belong to a different animal, maybe even a human.

“It’s like there’s someone trapped in there,” said Tom.

Johnny nodded. He knew exactly what his brother meant.

Tom and Johnny are in Lapland on a great adventure with their mother, Sandra. They are about to travel fast across the snow, pulled by a team of these beautiful dogs with the glacial eyes. But in the wilderness anything can happen. Someone can be lost, and how are they to be found?

Their step-sister Grainne (pronounced ‘grow-nya’) is at home in Dublin. She knows what it is like to lose someone. Her mother left when Grainne was six, and now she is eighteen and they are about to meet again. Grainne has always loved her father but right now she doesn’t feel she belongs to anyone, certainly not to Sandra or the boys. She is in a wilderness of her own. But will facing her mother make things better or worse?

The two halves of this book are intertwined throughout the narrative, and bound with tension. This makes for a story based  strongly on the characters of the three siblings. Each has to endure pressures and make vital decisions. The boys are tested physically as well as emotionally, whilst in many ways Grainne is fighting for her very identity.

Doyle honours his young characters and has made a fabulous story which can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

by Mrs Thomson

If you are interested in some other cool, cold or icy books, take a look at our list here.

Photo credit: husky dog in lapland 01 Originally uploaded by ezioman

Ten Mile River is a novel written by Paul Griffin, who portrays America in a different light to what we see in movies and television shows.

‘Homeless Group with Dog’ by Franco Folini

Homeless people are a prevalent fact in America, but Jose and Raymond are different. They choose to be homeless because they can. They go through what no teenage boy should go through, killing dogs, stealing, moving bodies, falling in frozen rivers and getting arrested.

“Yo Ray! Let’s get us that Lincoln then I can get my bike!” is some of the unusual American colloquialism used by Raymond and Jose, in their strange yet amusing lives.

Ten Mile River is an interesting book that breaks some of the teen-writing barriers, such as dead bodies and murder. Griffin portrays Jose as tough and strong, the leader and strength of the two. He portrays Raymond as intelligent, lost in a world that isn’t his, wanting the freedom to do whatever he wants to be intelligent.

Reading the blurb makes you think of a classic river story of young boys, Huckleberry Finn. Although there is only that one similarity between the two, I believe that it was written as a comparitive study for Huckleberry Finn, as the original publishing of 1884 is too long ago for a sequel to be written.

This book is good at most points, but it just gets under your skin in others so that you don’t want to read it anymore, yet sometimes you get sad when you must put it down to go do another menial task. Overall, this is an interesting novel to read because it stirs your emotions, gives an insight into American Life and shows how misguided troubled youths can be.

I Strongly recommend this book to avid readers, but if you struggle with reading a whole book, The American slang and troubling events will make it hard for you to not finish it.

Rated: 8.5/10