about the book
Fifteen-year-old half-Inuit Nick Thrasher knows the Canadian arctic land, the animals, and how to survive. He is an excellent bow hunter and has learned much from his native grandfather, Jonah. He just returned from a Caribou hunt where he experienced a really scary encounter with a horrifying hybrid, a “grolar bear,” part polar, part grizzly.
Back at the village he finds a letter from his estranged older half-brother, who he has not met before. Ryan Powers is a wildlife photographer and scientist working for National Geographic and he wants to head far north, rafting a remote part of the dangerous Yukon Firth River looking for one of the last giant caribou herds. The trip is not a good idea, but his beloved grandfather urges him to go. Jonah went on the same epic journey in his youth.
The trip is wrought with all sorts of dangers, and when their raft hits an ice jam and capsizes, they narrowly escape death and are stranded. Searching for their lost gear, they face the unpredictable and deadly whims of nature—starvation, hungry grizzlies and wolves, violent lightning storms, a wild gale, and the freezing elements.
As the two men debate the issue and struggle to survive, they come face to face with their worst nightmare—a massive aggressive grolar.
about the author
Writing from first-hand experience, Will Hobbs takes readers on exciting adventures. Growing up in an Air Force family, Will traveled a lot. He lived in more than seven different areas and loved exploring them all, learning to appreciate the challenge and beauty of nature’s diversity.
Will chose to write because he loves to read. When he wasn’t exploring on his many adventures, he was reading. Will says that some of his reading adventures inspired him to write his own. He involves all five senses in his adventures so that readers can really become the characters he develops for a little while.
Will has written 17 books for young readers as well as two picture books. He has won several awards for these titles, and seven of his books were named as Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association.
A graduate of Stanford University, Will grew up in San Antonia, Texas, with fond memories of time spent on the river. Inspired by a week- long canoe trip, he wrote Take Me to the River. Will currently lives in Durango, Colorado, with his wife.
Source:
Author website
Also by Will Hobbs:
Take Me to the River. Harper Collins. 2011.
Go Big or Go Home. Harper Collins. 2008.
Crossing the Wire. Harper Collins. 2006.
Leaving Protection. Harper Collins. 2004.
Jackie’s Wild Seattle. Harper Collins. 2003.
Wild Man Island. Harper Collins. 2002.
Down the Yukon. Harper Collins. 2001.
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