The White Darkeness by Geraldine McCaughrean

I think that teens would relate well to the adventure and mystery of the story. I would assume that most teens don't know a whole lot about Antartica and might be enticed to read this book because they don't already know too much about it.

The book addresses a teens' growth in distancing themselves from parents, exploring life on their own, making a stand on issues of importance to them, and developing more adult relationships.

I don't know that the character's were very believable. I think that Sym was a rather frustrating character. The entire novel I just wanted to shout at her, "Just tell your uncle NO! You don't have to take that!" I certainly wouldn't have behaved the way she did during the course of the novel. I also think her uncle was a bit too much on the crazy side. They were both hard to relate too.

I would promote this book to teen by relating it to the true events about the Antartica explorers. Captain Lawrence Oates plays a major role in the novel and I think it would interest teens to know that he is a real person in history and maybe pair "The White Darkness" with a non-fiction work on his adventures.

3Q, 3P, M&J