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Loading... Far North (1996)by Will Hobbs
None.  ShannaRedwind | Mar 31, 2013 |  This was a great adventure/survival story that fans of Hatchet should enjoy. (  ) GirlsonFire | Mar 1, 2013 | Reason for Reading: Several reasons: I read this aloud to my son. He really enjoyed our previous two Will Hobb's read alouds Jason's Gold and it's sequel Down the Yukon. He asked that I read him more by the author. I searched out titles and specifically choose this one for two reasons: 1) ds is very fond of both survival stories and any story that takes place at sea/on water (in this case an arctic river); 2) I have a geographical reading project going and as far as Canada goes I only have two provinces left and this would count as my North West Territories book. We sat down to read this book expecting an exciting book and Will Hobbs once again delivers. We were both thoroughly glued to our seats during the reading of this book. Hobbs always takes time to introduce his characters and set his story properly before diving into the adventure so don't expect to hit the ground running. This is not how Hobbs writes. He is a wonderful writer, with a skilled pen at description of scenery and really giving one a sense of being exactly where he has planted his characters, in this case a very northern part of Canada in the North West Territories, close to the Yukon border, along the Nahanni River boarded by cliffs on both sides. Once the adventure starts, though, the excitement is non-stop and peril is around every corner. Hobbs deals with man vs nature in a realistic manner and man doesn't always win, he gets hurt and sometimes he dies. Chapters end in either cliffhangers or desperate measures making one sorry to leave off until next time. As I said we both really enjoyed this, I'd say I liked this best of the three we've read so far. ( ) ElizaJane | Oct 15, 2012 | The first thing you should know about the Northwest Territories is that it's big. It stretches from the Yukon practically to within spitting distance of Greenland. The N.W.T. Is twice as big as Alaska. … See if you can picture this: only sixty thousand people live in the entire N.W.T., and almost a third of them live in the city of Yellowknife. And so. When the pilot engaged to return two natives back to their home, decides to take a sightseeing detour to show Texas teenager, Gabe, some of the territory he'd been describing, Gabe sees first-hand how remote and severely beautiful it is. Having chosen to go to school in Yellowknife in order to be nearer his father, who is working on the pipeline, Gabe wants to experience all he can. But he gets more experience than he bargained for, when everything goes horribly wrong and the plane's engine dies. The other two passengers, Raymond, a classmate of Gabe's who's abandoned school, and Johnny Raven, an elderly Dene indian are hard put to help each other survive. Johnny Raven must rely on the strength of their youth, and they, in turn, must rely on his years of wilderness wisdom. This was a heart-pounding read; the author did a great job of laying out the story, making you wonder how and what the three would choose at each juncture of decision. The setting was wonderfully evocative, the characters very believable, the writing very well done. (  ) countrylife | Sep 14, 2011 | 10th grader Gabe Rogers heads to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to be nearer his father who is drilling for diamonds in a remote region. After his mother's death nine years earlier, he's lived primarily with his grandparents in Texas. He wants to see the north about which his dad talks. At his boarding school, his roommate is a boy from one of the Dene villages. Gabe's father arranges for Gabe to fly with a bush pilot one weekend. The flight just happens to be when his roommate Raymond decides to return to his village along with Johnny Raven, an older man from the village who had been in the hospital in Yellowknife. The pilot makes some unwise decisions and suddenly only Gabe, Raymond, and Johnny are left to survive in the extreme cold. It's a great story of survival for middle age readers, especially boys. The story kept me captivated. I stayed up later than I had intended just to finish the story in one sitting. (  )1  thornton37814 | Jul 17, 2011 |
 Jan Lieberman (Children's Literature) As Gabe and Raymond are in danger of freezing to death, Ray recalls his mother saying, "Life is the greatest gift," which gives the boys greater resolve to survive. Roommates at a boarding school in Yellowknife, the boys come from totally different cultures: Ray is a native from a remote Dene village in Canada while Gabe is a Texan. On an ill-fated flight, the boys must depend on each other when their plane goes down in a remote area of the Northwest Territory. With them is Johnny, an old man from Ray's village, who teaches them more survival skills before he dies, but finally it is the boys who must help each other. Grand scenic descriptions plus suspense and dramatic action make this a good story of friendship and survival. 1997 (orig. 1996), Morrow, $15.00 and $4.50 Ages 10 to 14. Diane Tuccillo (VOYA, February 1997 (Vol. 19, No. 6)) Fifteen-year-old Texan Gabe Rogers decides to attend boarding school in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories so that he can be near his father, who is working at a diamond drilling project. When his roommate, Raymond Providence, a native from a remote Dene village, chooses to leave the boarding school and return home, Gabe is invited by his pilot buddy, Clint, to fly along. With them is Raymond's great-uncle, Johnny Raven, who has just been released from the hospital in Yellowknife and is also returning home to the village. Clint decides to take a detour up the Nahanni river to show his passengers the spectacular Virginia Falls, even though his radio is not functioning well enough to allow him to report his change in flight plans. When the engine dies after the plane lands on the river, everyone is nearly swept away by the strong current. The boys and Johnny Raven manage to get some supplies and themselves to the riverbank, but Clint is not so lucky. He and the plane are dragged over the falls. So begins a battle of survival for the wise elder and two resourceful teens, with the intense Arctic winter descending upon them. This classic Hobbs adventure, taking readers to a rugged, amazing wilderness few know. Characters are well drawn, and excitement and energy penetrate their entire trek from above Virginia Falls through the looming canyon of the almost-frozen Nahanni below. Smart and faulty choices are made the whole journey until the boys realize they must follow Johnny Raven's guidance if they are to make it back home. When Johnny Raven dies, the boys have learned so much from him they are able to continue their journey. Raymond is even able to recognize the spirit of the raven as their guide, reminiscent of Burr's cougar in Ardath Mayhar's Medicine Walk (Atheneum, 1985). Readers clamoring for more superior adventure like Gary Paulsen's Hatchet (Bradbury, 1987) will find their wish satisfied here. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 1996, Morrow, 226p., $15.00. Ages 11 to 18.
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Wikipedia in English
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I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys survival novels or novels about the north. (