New York : St. Martin's Griffin, 2019.

Book

First St. Martin's Griffin edition.

549 pages ; 21 cm

English

9781250229533, 9780312577230, 0312577230, 9780312577230 (hardcover), 9781250229533

UG
Level 4.9, 20 Points

Includes Reader's Guide.

Lenora Allbright is 13 when her father convinces her mother, Cora, to forgo their inauspicious existence in Seattle and move to Kaneq, AK. It's 1974, and the former Vietnam POW sees a better future away from the noise and nightmares that plague him. Having been left a homestead by a buddy who died in the war, Ernt is secure in his beliefs, but never was a family less prepared for the reality of Alaska, the long, cold winters and isolation. Locals want to help out, especially classmate Matthew Walker, who likes everything about Leni. Yet the harsh conditions bring out the worst in Ernt, whose paranoia takes over their lives and exacerbates what Leni sees as the toxic relationship between her parents. The Allbrights are as green as greenhorns can be, and even first love must endure unimaginable hardship and tragedy as the wilderness tries to claim more victims.

"Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America's last true frontier ... At first Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers ... But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt's fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture"--Amazon.com.

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