Overview

On Fractured Ice At the edge of the world, where the summer sun never sets and the sea ice speaks in sharp, gunshot cracks, survival is a delicate dance between ancient wisdom and a changing horizon. In the tiny Inughuit village of Siorapaluk, fourteen-year-old twins Nanook and Anusha live on a razor-thin margin. Nanook is desperate to prove he is a hunter, but learns that the tundra has no room for tantrums. He must master Qinuituq-the deep, soul-stretching patience required to endure shifting floes and the ""poisonous green"" visions of his own fear. While Nanook tracks seals and avoids the great polar bear, his sister Anusha weaves stories that travel faster than a dogsled. But in a community of only forty people, a ""not-quite-true"" tale can become a secret with teeth. As the Arctic summer warms and the ice begins to fracture weeks too early, old traditions collide with the modern world. When Anusha's reckless rumors about the local trader spread like a poison, the village's lifeline is severed just as a black cloud of hunger settles over their home. Nanook and Anusha must learn that survival requires more than one kind of strength: For Nanook, it is realizing that true hunting is about honoring the land's signs-and the life of a trapped wolf-rather than just the big kill. For Anusha, it is discovering that while stories are the heartbeat of the people, only the truth can mend a broken community. Can the twins find validation in their own unique gifts before the floes split and trust shatters completely? On Fractured Ice is a thrilling adventure that proves the hunter's skill and the storyteller's truth are equally vital for a culture fighting to stay whole.

Full Product Details

9781737483977

Table of Contents

Reviews

Light, time and even life itself move differently in the polar regions. The crisp air and elongated seasons require a clarity of purpose and a defined tempo; the people of the Arctic don't live 'closer to nature'; they are so deeply intertwined with nature they are the personification of the Arctic. As a highly experienced Polar traveler Karin Jensen has captured the spirit of the high-latitudes and the deeply interconnected relationship between the people, the wildlife, the landscape and the climate that governs all. -- Rob McCallum, Co-founder EYOS Expeditions More than a simple adventure, this story is a powerful testament to the necessity of cultural preservation. The elders stress that stories are 'sacred' and hold the 'wisdom we need today'. The ancestors provide the moral compass. The inclusion of the ceremonial qulliq lamp and the final, beautiful blessing song affirms the theme that culture is not stagnant; it is a vital, living force that binds the people together and offers hope for the future. -- Charlotte Petersen, local hunter and Sympathy Reader As a homeschooling mom, I am always looking for books that can serve as a launchpad for learning. The ReadToDiscover series is a goldmine. We read the book, then we find the country on a map, and we talk about the different traditions. It makes learning feel like an adventure. -- Jennifer Plummer, Homeschooling Parent, Raleigh, NC Karin Jensen's cross-cultural novels for young readers spring from friendships across the globe and years of teaching in an international setting. Her fiction transports readers into vividly rendered worlds-Greenlandic villages, Vanuatu, the Mongolian steppe, the highlands of Sulawesi-where cultural specificity becomes the lens through which universal truths emerge. A child wrapped in musk-ox fur and one running barefoot across sun-warmed sand may live worlds apart, yet both seek the same things: understanding, friendship, love. Jensen's work proves that the most particular stories are often the most universal. Her stories nurture not only cultural literacy, but help young readers discover both what makes us different and what binds us together. -- Caroline Merner, Homeschooling Parent, Iowa

Author Information

In a life of traveling and making friends in over 100 nations, Karin Jensen absorbed the cultural tapestries that make our world so vibrantly unique. And through a lifetime spent imparting knowledge and values as a language teacher, lay pastor and Scout leader, Karin understands the transformative power of stories that shed light on diverse cultural experiences. Based on the life and stories of one of these friends, she crafts tales for middle-grade readers, showcasing that the rich realities of our global communities can be as enchanting as any fantasy.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available