When sickness decimates his fishing village, an orphan named Leif flees north in a cedar canoe, journeying along a brutal but beautiful coastline.
Leif, a 12-year-old orphan, has grown up on the sea and been passed from boat to boat in his short life. Set ashore with five others, the group was tasked to gather and smoke salmon to feed the crew of the ship. When the “men without shadows” come to the fish camp, they bring a sickness which quickly begins to spread in the camp, and “Death found them.” Placed in a cedar canoe and told to “Go North” to try to escape the Sickness, Leif begins his journey.
As he paddles the canoe ever north, he encounters ravens, deadly orca whales, fierce rains, black bears, eagles, and even icebergs. How will Leif find enough food to eat? Can he escape the Sickness? Does he have the skills needed to be able to survive the hardships of the sea in just a small canoe?
This survival adventure sweeps you up, envelops you in drama, and carries you along on a current of nature’s wonders and hazards. This fast-paced, riveting, and at times lyrical, novel will keep the reader’s attention to the surprising end. This book is very hard to put down, so allow yourself time to thoroughly embrace the adventure.
Availability: Book; Playaway Audiobook; eBook & aAudiobook in cloudLibrary Rating: ***** Stars (I loved it) Reviewer: Kathy, Cataloging Librarian
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GENRE: Adventure Stories; Historical Fiction; Survival Stories
WRITING STYLE: Attention-Grabbing; Lyrical; Spare
STORYLINE: Action-Packed; Character-Driven
CHARACTER: Courageous
LOCATION: Scandinavia
SUBJECT: Canoeing; Cholera; Fishing Villages; Fjords; Ocean Travel; Orphans; Plague; Survival; Twelve-Year-Old Boys; Villages; Whirlpools; Wilderness Survival; Wildlife
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