Comment

Oct 02, 2013
The remote Firth River has always been home to Nick Thrasher. At fifteen years of age, he knows the land well and is already an experienced Inuit hunter. When the caribou he has just caught is suddenly snatched by a huge, monstrous beast, Nick knows in a glance that the strange creature – half grizzly, half polar bear (soon to be known as the “grolar bear”) - is more dangerous than any other Arctic animal. He knows that he’s lucky to have escaped with his life. Soon after the incident, Nick is invited on a rafting trip down the Firth River by his older half-brother, Ryan. Now an international wildlife photographer, Ryan’s assignment is to photograph the migrating caribou herds in the Firth River watershed and discover the effects of climate change on these animals and others in this part of the Arctic. Their trip of discovery soon becomes a trip of survival as the raft capsizes and they become submerged in the frigid water under a ceiling of ice. Both escape, but narrowly. Lacking provisions and warm clothing, they are left only with the clothes on their backs and a knife as protection against unpredictable weather, storms, wolves, grizzlies and the terrifying grolar bear that is now stalking them. The non-stop action in this well-written adventure/survival story will keep readers turning the pages. The effects of climate change on the Arctic and on the Inuit culture are very much a part of the story, in a non-preachy way. Readers can find a number of other adventures by Will Hobbs in the Stratford Public Library, such as Take Me to the River and Go Big or Go Home.