Deborah Zink Roffino
In this Newbery Honor book, 13-year-old Russel Susskit heeds the words of a wise Eskimo shaman and leaves his familir village to begin a journey of self-discovery. The thoughtful plot is laced with physically profound scenes, realistic and savage, as the young man learns to survive in the cold white reality of the wilderness.
The Mailbox
From the Publisher
"Unusual and moving...a remarkable book." School Library Journal, starred review
OCTOBER 2009 - AudioFile
Paulsen's 1986 Newbery Honor Book introduces 14-year-old Alaskan Russel Suskitt, who is worried that his people are losing their traditional skills with dogs by surrendering to snowmobiles. Setting out on a modern quest with a dog team borrowed from a village elder, Russel crosses mountains and tundra in search of his destiny. The novel has just been released for the first time as an audiobook, but narrator Robert Ramirez is a familiar voice to audio bookworms. Ramirez places the dogs and the dangers, from polar bears to ice floes, in stark relief, his voice a fine match for Paulsen's powerful words. He believably uses tone to project the passionate intensities of youth. Ramirez's steady, inviting voice makes this a glorious blizzard of a book that sends shivers down the listener’s spine. M.M.C. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine