Gr 6–10—Montreal seems a lifetime away from George River, Quebec, where Noah has come to stay with his divorced father, a high school teacher. The 15-year-old is skeptical about spending an entire school term in this forbidding environment located at the Arctic tree line and accessible only by plane, but is willing to pay the price for some "dad time." Earning disdain from the locals for jogging in below-freezing temperatures and causing his father's beloved dog to be hit by a truck, Noah has a lot to learn about living in Kangiqsualujjuaq. Worried that he has upset his father and unsettled by the suspicion that he may be in a relationship with the town nurse, Noah accepts an invitation to get away for a winter campout with some classmates and teachers. Here, his survival skills are put to the test as he fails to stomach the taste of raw fish and loses six-year-old Etua in a blizzard. After retrieving classmate Joseph's severed finger after an accident and fending off a polar bear, Noah begins to realize the tenuous nature of life and death here, as well as the strength of character needed to become accepted in this close-knit culture. Although the survival-adventure details will engage reluctant readers, the story has elements of romance when Noah strives to impress an Inuit classmate. Less complicated is Noah's relationship with his father, which remains fairly steadfast throughout. Add this to survival/adventure collections.—Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY