Shackleton's Stowaway

by Victoria McKernan

On October 26, 1914, Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance set sail from Buenos Aires in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize in the crossing of the Antarctic continent. The crew stood on deck to watch the city fade away. All but one.

Eighteen-year-old Perce Blackborow hid below in a locker. But the thrill of stowing away with the legendary explorer would soon turn to fear. Within months, the Endurance, trapped and crushed by ice, sank. And even Perce, the youngest member of the stranded crew, knew there was no hope of rescue. If the men were to survive in the most hostile place on earth, they would have to do it on their own.

Victoria McKernan deftly weaves the hard-to-fathom facts of this famous voyage into an epic, edge-of-your-seat survival novel.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Adventure, Survival, Historical, Fiction, Action

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 8, 2005

About the author

Victoria McKernan started traveling at the age of eighteen and spent many years working her way around the world, hitchhiking and sailing. She graduated in 1982 from George Washington University with a BA in theatre. Since learning to scuba-dive on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, she has worked as a scuba instructor, underwater model, and divemaster on several ships. She lives in Washington D.C. with a dog, two cats, and a boa constrictor.

She has written four mystery/thrillers for adults, all of which feature underwater adventure. Her most recent adult novel, THE MOSQUITO WAR (under the name of V.A. MacAlister - Tor, 2001), deals with international conspiracies to control a cure for malaria that comes from an underwater plant.

The award-winning book, SHACKLETON’S STOWAWAY (Knopf, 2005), is her first young adult novel. Knopf will publish THE DEVIL’S PAINTBOX, her next young adult novel, in Spring 2009.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

many many animals were harmed in the writing of this story. and "good" animals, too, not just the necessary "starving in antarctica" ones that you have to kill for survival. there are awful penguin-clubbing sequences, some euthanasia of dogs and a cat, and lots of seals make their way into seal heaven. there is also one awesome amputation scene.disney will never option this story. there are very few places to insert singing mice (twss) but it is a true account of a young boy who stowed away on shackleton's ill-fated antarctic exploration, and details the cold, starvation, seasickness, and madness in very real and graphic terms.

so take everything i said about everest and double it. if everest hates you, antarctica hates your whole family past, present, and future. antarctica is having a fine time just floating in the cold icebergy, seal-filled water and resents it when humans decide to drop by unannounced. and like that one time those roaches tried to live in my cupboards - all shall be destroyed.

but i loved this book. i love survival stuff, to be sure, but particularly cold-weather survival. having read this, the terror, brian's winter, peak, into thin air, and aurororama all within the past year - i will not be making any arctic voyages anytime soon, thank you. but i will read about it all cozy in my slanket.and now i really want to read endurance.


but i still have some teen fiction on the syllabus to endure (yuk yuk chortle) first.

come to my blog!

[02emmah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I never even heard of this book, if we have to read it for science I will most likely hate it." These were the thoughts that ran through my head as I was assigned to read this book for science. The next day I bring it home dreading to open it and start reading the first 100 pages before midterm. When I pulled out the book my dad looked over and asked what I was reading. When he saw that it was "Shackleton's Stowaway" his face lit up with excitement. "That is one of the most amazing rescue stories I have every heard. It is a miracle how all of the men live till the end."

Once having background on the story I dug right into it excited to discover the whole story. The entire adventure starts out with a ship wreaking and leaving two men to find a job on another ship. When one of them gets a job on the ship, the Endurance, heading to the with the famous sailor Ernis Shackleton, bound for the south pole. Perce being the one who wants to go doesn't get chosen. From the title of the book it sort of gives away the next part. Perce stow's away.


Bounded by the excitement of going to the South Pole, Perce doesn't realize the trouble he is in. After the next couple months things become rough. The ship get's stuck in the ice and there is no way to get out, until the ice melts. After spending months stuck in the ship one day the ice starts pushing the ship together causing the wood planks to break. This leaves the men only one chose... Abandon ship! 28 eight men, over 20 dogs, 3 life boats and one cat are stranded on miles and miles of chunky ice.

The men are soon in the life boats and rowing for their lives. Weeks go by before they reach the dreaded Elephant Island. After a couple of days Shackleton decides to take 6 men to go to get help they restore the biggest life boat and are on their way. Weeks go by as they row through some of the roughest waters of the world.

Once Shackleton and his men reach land the only way to get help is climb over mountains that are as steep as they come. Once getting to the station they go back twice to rescue the men, but can't get through the ice, so the go to Chile. There they get the boat ,the Emma, and once again have to go back to Chile empty handed. They finally rescued the men with a rusty, metal tugboat that never left the harbor.

I think that this book was amazing!!! I personally think it is the best rescue story there is. Most people would just give up and leave themselves all together to die, but not these men. They had the courage and strength to do their best. The whole book I was sucked in when they were freezing I would shiver, when they were hungry my stomache would growl. Even though I felt the way they did at some points I can't even imagine what it would have been like. I would highly recommed this book to anyone.

[Karen Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

FABULOUS read! Having read Endurance by Alfred Lansing years ago I was fairly aware of the happenings of that expedition. This book, written for younger readers, was an incredible account of that voyage through the eyes of the true to life 18 year old stowaway. I imagine my grandchildren coming across this book and being sucked into the power of this extraordinary adventure. Better yet, I would love to read it aloud to them.

[Heather Ummel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent true story of the Endurance shipwreck from the perspective of an actual stowaway on that trip. McKernan does a wonderful job of research and writing. More impressively, she brings a real knowledge of people to her writing and allows us to experience and appreciate Shackleton’s leadership along with the strengths and weaknesses of several others and the beauty of friendship. Every child should read this.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great adventure story about a young man's journey to Antartica.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young adult fictionalized account of Shackleton’s Endurance trek to Antarctica. Quick and enjoyable read from of such a harrowing journey.

[Jannabeth Jayce · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh it was ok

[✨⭐️idek dude⭐️✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasnt actually as bad as i thought it would be. The beginning was lowkey really boring though. I didnt like HATE it or anything but i wouldnt read it again.

Meh. 3⭐️s

[Rseal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story of the legendary voyage from a unique perspective.

[Constance W. Aichele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an exciting adventure right up to the very end! Might be better to read it in July or August, when you need cooling off, rather than in January!

[Karolina Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What an amazing story! I love that it’s historical fiction. It was grueling, but I love the resiliency of the sailors. I also loved that at the end of the book you saw what happened with the rest of their lives. I would definitely love to read another one of these.

[Mrs. Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never in a million years would I have picked this book up were I not considering it for my students. And, boy, would I have missed out. This is absolutely not my genre, but I am so glad I read it. What a great tale, and what a glimpse into what grit, persistence, and heroism - the kind that saves lives - really looks like. Forget sports and movie stars. Shackleton should be everyone’s hero.

[Cheryl A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is a fictionalized account of Perce Blackborow, a 18 year old stowaway on the Endurance, Shackleton's ill-fated ship on his expedition to cross the Antarctic, the novel is full of well researched historical fact.

Stranded in South America after their ship runs aground in Montevideo, Perce Blackborow and his mate, Billy Bakewell, search for another posting on a ship and discover by chance that the Endurance will have two openings. Although Billy is hired on, Perce is considered too young and inexperienced for the voyage. He is given a jack-of-all-trades position while in port, but is set to go ashore right before sailing. Billy and another young sailor, Tim McCarthy, decide that Perce should just stowaway and hide him in a locker for three days - until it's too late to turn back.

What starts out as a glorious adventure quickly turns into a dangerous voyage. Perce claims a respected place with the crew - both sailors and scientists alike. As the ship is trapped in ice and finally breaks up and sinks, everyone must work together to survive.

The harsh realities of this ill-fated voyage are not glossed over for a young adult audience. Although the thoughts and words of the characters are imaged by the author, the action sequences are all based in fact. The author did a splendid job of recounting this event through the viewpoint of the youngest member of the expedition.

Thanks to the librarians of the Texas Lone Star Reading List advisory team. The Texas Lone Star Reading List is a wonderful yearly selection of various books to appeal to 6th through 8th grade students and offers even adult readers a varied sampling of some of the best young adult literature available. Check this list out!!

[Lisa Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Campbell
Adventure
Perce Blackborow really wants to join the crew of the Endurance for its expedition. Denied a job on the ship he stows away with the help of two friends. Under the leadership of Shackleton, Perce learns the value of sheer grit, determination and optimism. In the world’s most treacherous seas they battle their way to safety, finally making land only to find rescue is still hundreds of miles away. During the horrifying days of rowing, Perce discovers that his feet are frozen solid. It is only a matter of time before his toes and possibly his feet must be amputated. Perce lay in the most horrid conditions waiting for his feet to thaw for the amputation. Shackleton leaves to find help, but it is months before he makes it back. Far away at the end of the world these men fought off hunger, fear and insanity with one goal in mind – to get everyone home safely. After three years in the world’s worst conditions, Shackleton did not lose a single man.

I have loved the story of Shackleton’s adventure for many years and was delighted to find a teen book on the subject. This story is a perfect illustration of the importance of friendship and optimism in the most extreme of circumstances. Based on a true story, I think Perce and Shackleton would be an inspiration to any teen looking for real life heroes.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing historical fiction book about Shackleton’s 2 year journey in the Antarctic. A story or survival and courage.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a cold, sucky weekend, so reading a story about infinitely more badass people than I, enduring a far colder, suckier time sounded appealing. If you love cold weather exploration/adventure/survival stories like I love cold weather exploration/adventure/survival stories, then you should love this book too. It's thrilling and truly, just ungodly brutal. There's no shying away from the hunger, madness, toe amputations, clubbing of adorable seals and penguins so the crew won't starve, and from the shooting of the ship's well-loved cat and dogs (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--that part was the worst). It makes for an awesome, exciting story to read as you plop your very-well-fed ass on a cushy couch, in central heating, and think about how flipping crazy people were to go on an expedition like this in the first place.

[Libby Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I start lamenting a Minnesota winter, I can be grateful I'm not spending four months under a lifeboat on an Artic island waiting for rescue. Victoria McKernan bases her novel on the experience of Perce Blackborow, the youngest member of Ernest Shackelton's crew as they attempt to cross Antarctica. Miraculously, all the crew return alive from the two year journey; however, over two-thirds is spent trapped by pack ice and nearly a year is spent with no ship at all. Drawing heavily from journals, shiplogs, and interviews, McKernan makes the story frighteningly real.

I once saw a documentary of this amazing survival, but this novel did more to bring the suffering home. I am amazed and the strength and the will to live among that group of men.

[Dotty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was a major contributor to my inability to fall asleep last evening until after 2 AM. This is my first experience with the story of the Shackleton expedition and Victoria McKernan has me chomping at the bit to read more about Shackleton, look to find Hurley's photos and perhaps read more about these incredible survivors. The narrative and dialog mix kept me moving and since I hadn't read about the expedition I didn't know until the end who survived. I plan to add this to a new survival book talk that mixes fiction, nonfiction and biography. My only regret is the edition I had was a blister to read as it was a Follett bound that was not easy on the eyes...small print, no margins. Will be looking for another edition to add to the collection.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read historical accounts of the "Endurance" voyage, I could see that this YA historical novel of the survival story is accurate and based on fact. Packed with true tidbits and written in a tense style to make any teenager become engrossed in the story, it was a very good re-telling of the story. Told in third person but from the POV of the youngest member of the crew who stowed away on the "Endurance", Perce Blackborow's story is one of struggle, sacrifice, and true survival. Because they lived for months in areas where there was no plant life, their fresh meat comes from animals killed by the crew. There are scenes describing the loss of animal life that are sometimes very hard to read, but always told from Perce's viewpoint with sorrow and a sense of loss.

[Karin Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This carefully written novel does a nice job chronicling the expedition and captures the struggle well. The stowaway's view is a valuable one as it gives those of us with little to no background about this type of experience a firsthand view of it. For this reason it is also great as a middle grade read. I did find it difficult to experience this much pain and struggle for so many pages and personally don't particularly enjoy the process of reading such an account. My son will be reading it for school so I read it to know what to talk to him about. GREAT book to use as a jumping off point for discussions about leadership. It made me think of the best leader I know and why he is such a great leader.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shackleton's story doesn't need novelization to be an amazing read, but it was fun to see the characters personified. This was a great "survival book," Charlotte Doyle, Hatchet, Island of the Blue Dolphins style adventure, but the fact that it's a true story makes it all the more amazing. It makes me want to read more books on the subject.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an amazing story, an outstanding tale of survival. I found myself continually amazed by their suffering and Shakleton's ability rally and inspire his men to hold out and survive. I really liked that the author tried to relay the events as the truly happened, but I did find that it moved a little slow moving.

[Chris Druin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful adventure story. I am fascinated by what all the crew went through! This book is told from the perspective of the stowaway and is an amazing true story!

[Patricia Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a reader of many survival stories, true and fictional, I rate this as one of the best tales of the GREATEST SURVIVAL SUCCESS STORIES of all time! HOPE AGAINST HOPE, Shackleton and his team are portraits in courage and Shackleton was a superb model of leadership. When things got worse and worse, life-threatening conditions occurred every day and when most men would have given up, Shackleton kept his crew’s spirits high with humor, optimism, challenges, leading as example and activities to strengthen their allegiance to him as well as to each other.

While navigating the fiercest seas in the coldest part of the globe, the ice broke, The Endurance sunk, and the crew abandoned it, food and supplies packed on dog sleds. They were constantly moving to avoid the forces of the ice floes and looking for a safer stretch of land since their sponsors were not expecting them to return for a year and, therefore, no one would be searching for them. They started to hike the 350 miles to the nearest station, didn’t make it, were forced to abandon the plan and set up camp for the winter instead on a small “island” (not the ones with palm trees and native girls) while surviving on seal meat and blubber as well as their beloved dogs, which had to be sacrificed to reduce weight from the small lifeboat and provide food. Struggling through the frigid arctic air, sleet and wind and always wearing clothes soaked and frozen, they marched on. Their boots often stuck to the ground, their feet wet and frozen. They all suffered from frostbite and the main character, Perce, was forced to have his toes removed amidst the horrendous conditions.

Perce, 18 years old and from Wales, hid on the ship when it was first starting out from Buenos Ares. Shackleton’s goal was to cross the South Pole by foot but the was stuck in the pack ice, sunk, so they had to fight for survival for a little over 2 years. There's a reason why it's known as one of the greatest survival stories of all time. I watched several documentaries on the adventure and was amazed at the number of photographs and videos. This was possible because there was a photographer aboard. “As her bow shifted, Perce saw a line of square ice floes laid out point to point like stepping stones in a garden." Theauthor used a lot of similes and metaphors so it made things easier to picture.

Shackleton was one of the most famous explorers of his time, he had previously journeyed to the South Pole and trekked 600 miles in freezing temperatures living off of water, some biscuits and a chocolate bar.

Even though it’s a story of survival, the whole story radiates a spirit of hope and happiness. Even when Perce was getting his foot amputated, he joked. When they were stuck in the ice for almost a year, they played games, gambled, sang, played instruments and hunted penguins. They bet on how many penguins would come ashore during the week, whether a seal would be killed on an odd or even day, or how many chunks of ice would fall off the glacier that day.

The crew was stranded for almost an entire year. Though they were able to hunt penguins and seals for food, they faced starvation. In addition, the ice floe the crew was camping on began to melt and shrink. Finally, enough ice around the camp melted so the crew escaped on the lifeboats.

Since they could not be certain that they would be rescued if they remained at their camp, Shackleton took several men and sailed for a nearby island that he knew was inhabited. The seven miles took 17 days to reach, only to learn the whaling station was on the other side of the island. Tremendously weak, the men hiked up the mountains where they saw civilization awaiting them 2,500 feet below. They literally slid down hill to their rescuers then sailed back to his awaiting crew.

All of the sailors were rescued and the expedition returned to Buenos Ares without having lost a single man. After a lengthy stay in the hospital, Perce is able to return home.

ALL 28 SURVIVED THIS ORDEAL. Shackleton paid off his debts and raised monies for a return voyage by lecturing, which he did not like. He did not feel at ease in civilization. In 1920 he launched an expedition to Antarctica and many of the crew went with him. He died of a heart attack enroute.

[07SydneyJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Shackleton's Stowaway" written by Victoria McKernan is a great book if your looking for an adventure story with some facts about an actual historical even along the way. The major events and important dates in this book actually happened but certain conversations were fabricated to help make a story. I thought that this book was good at setting the scene, making characters come to life and it made learning historical events fun! Although this book was good at making characters come to life it needed to talk about more characters on their ship, also I thought the author should have put more emphasis and detail on different parts of the book.

The first thing that i'd like to talk about is how Victoria did such a good job at setting the scenes in this book. In the story,Shackleton's Crew wanted to get to the South Pole and cross it on foot, but their ship got stuck in the pack ice and sunk so they had to fight for survival for a little over 2 years. There's a reason why it's known as one of the greatest survival stories of all time. So for most of the story the crew is stuck somewhere in the South Pole on a gigantic sheet of pack ice. The author did a really good job of describing the settings, like at one point Perce climbs up the mast and helps the photographer take a picture, the way he described the South Pole makes me feel like I've been there. A quote from the book that helps illustrate my point: "As her bow shifted, Perce saw a line of square ice floes laid out point to point like stepping stones in a garden." The book used a lot of similes and metaphors so it made things easier to picture.

“Shackleton was not a tall man, but he was square and solid, built like a bull. Shackleton had a kind of force about him, an energy that hits your right away and stayed with you even after he left.” (Pg.26) Ernest Shackleton was one of the most famous explorers of his time, he had previously journeyed to the South Pole and trekked 600 miles in freezing temperatures living off of water, some biscuits and a chocolate bar. He was truly an amazing man and an inspiration to millions of people, I would have never heard about him if I had never read this book. I found out that he was such an amazing man because the descriptive words made the characters come to life and feel like people you could see in the same room as you. I felt like I could see Shackleton, I’m pretty sure if this book was ever made into a movie, he would be played by the dad on Parenthood. Another person I felt like I got to know through this story was Perce Blackborrow, the man the story is based on. Perce was a young man seeking adventure who stowed away in one of the deck hands locker just so he could go on the voyage. He ended up being an especially big help on board the “Endurance” and ended up losing part of his foot due to frostbite. Just another person I learned about from this story.

Now that I've talked about a few of the good things I guess it’s time to talk about the bad. As I previously mentioned, this book was great at making characters come to life, I just think that more characters need to be mentioned. Like the saying “It takes a village to raise a child” I think there should be a new one saying “It takes a whole crew to survive in the South Pole.” There were so many men on board the “Endurance” that didn't even get mentioned in the story, and it makes me really upset! Everyone that survived that horrible ordeal deserves to be recognized because (excuse my language) but they lived through hell. For example: “Tim McCarthy, one of the sailors ran after them.” That is the only time in the whole book that they mention that man. Which is really sad because I bet he helped saved a lot of lives, just because he didn't lose a foot from it he still deserves to be mentioned!

I seem to be one of those kids that when a teacher is rattling off random facts about the Industrial Revolution and the Shoshone Indians it just goes in one ear and right out the other. I’m more of a hands-on learner. That’s why I really enjoyed this book! I learned so much about the “Endurance Expedition” that I would have never known , it was such an amazing thing that they survived and so many miracles occurred that I think they should write their own version of “Seventeen Miracles.” I love learning things about our country’s history and the worlds history but sometimes, let’s be honest, even the coolest information told in the wrong way could make anyone want to shoot themselves. "It could be bloody Mongolian folk songs for all we can tell!" That was an example of one of the things that the sailors said to one another. This book was a fun way to teach people about all the hard times that these people went through just for the sake of exploring the unknown, it was fun because you felt like you were actually learning about real people, not ancient brown people. It was awesome and I learned so many things, combined with this story and “Kon-Tiki” I feel like I could go on an expedition across the ocean.

The only other thing I didn’t like in this story was how certain events were told in a lot of detail and then other really important events were just summarized and skipped over. I thought this book was excellent and it took a lot of thinking to come up with two things that I didn’t like about it but this is one of the things I decided on. For example: “As soon as the Yelcho cleared the pack ice they began to celebrate.” That’s all it says pretty much about them getting off the island and getting on the ship to return home. What?! That’s one of the most important scenes in the whole story and it was scrunched down into like 2 sentences. There are other places where it spends like 2 pages talking about what penguin meat tastes like and how they saw whales but they couldn’t spare a paragraph for the rescue? Definitely needs to be more emphasis on the important parts.

The last thing that I wanted to talk about was the feel good mood of this story. Even though it’s a story of survival and stuff like that, the whole story radiates a spirit of hope and happiness. I am a strong believer that if you send out positive signals to the world, then positive things will come back to you. The fact that any of them survived was a miracle, and I think it was because of their great attitudes. Even when Perce was getting his foot amputated he wasn’t scared, he was cracking jokes right before he got it cut off. When they were stuck in the ice for almost a year, they played games, gambled, sang, learned instruments and hunted penguins. Not once did it talk about how they would sit around and feel bad for themselves. “They would bet on how many penguins would come ashore during the week, whether a seal would be killed on an odd or even day, or how many chunks of ice would fall off the glacier that day.” It gave me hope because even in a super hard time living off a boat and then under a boat, they led pretty normal lives and kept up high spirits. They were all heroes!

As you can see by the evidence presented in the previous passages, the book "Shackleton's Stowaway" is a great book if your looking for an adventure with some facts about History along the way. It was good at setting the scene, making characters come to life and it made history fun. There were very few things I didn't like about this book and I learned a lot. I give it 4.5 stars.

[Jimmy Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the non-fiction Alfred Lansing's "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage," and Ernest Shackleton's "South with Endurance," each of which describe the efforts of Shackleton and his crew to survive in the Arctic. So when I saw "Shackleton's Stowaway," I thought it might be an interesting fictionalization of the story.

I didn't recall (it was a long voyage, and a while ago that I was in my Arctic phase) that there actually was a stowaway on board the ship. Perce Blackborow, at 18, did hide on board the Endurance as it departed Buenos Aires and, after proving himself to be an able seaman and willing to work, was kept with the ship when it reached South Georgia.

Because the book is written in narrative form, even if you know the story, you get a more heart-wrenching and touching look at the efforts made to accomplish Shackleton's goal. Using unpublished diaries of some of the sailors, as well as conventional sources, McKernan has woven together a palpable story of suffering, camaraderie, and heroism.

There's a quote, reprinted in Wikipedia, by Sir Raymond Priestley who was one of Shackleton's contemporaries. In a 1956 address to the British Science Association, Priestley said "Scott for scientific method, Amundsen for speed and efficiency but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton." That's clearly true in the dry non-fiction story when you see the truly amazing physical feats he performed. In this fictionalization, McKernan was able to highlight more graphically his discerning, and critical, leadership skills with the individual sailors in crisis.

The book is written in simpler form than the non-fiction - I'd actually target this at young teenagers (not children) - but still interesting reading.

[Uriah O'Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second rate historical fiction of the highest order.
McKernan sticks to the facts, but layers in some delightful embellishments and personal flare to turn one of the greatest survival stories ever into yet another gripping read. It's hard to go wrong when you have Earnest Shackleton as your source material, but this author has done a truly admirable job of combining information from the various sources available to tell the story as an adventure novel from the perspective of one character (though, annoyingly, she does stray from this perspective style at a few points in the narrative, which is a shame if you ask me)
Overall a fantastic read, though I would recommend reading more strictly historical accounts first, so you can more fully appreciate what McKernan has done with this little book.

My two gripes with the book are 1. It was clearly written by an American trying to flex the fact that they were somewhat familiar with British slang, some sentences of dialog seem to have been crafted for no other purpose than to excuse the use of a word like knickers, or blimey mate. Which at the end of the day is fine it just detracts from the realism a bit. And 2. The fact that it's a "teen and young adult" novel. The very idea of such a genre irks me to no end. Just write goods books and if teenagers can read and enjoy them, they will, stop pretending that we have to dumb things down to hold the attention of anyone under the age of 18. But I digress, and as this is a social ill, which reaches far beyond the covers of this book, so I won't hold it too much against the poor thing, but the point stands; this book would have been better if the author wasn't "trying to write for a teen and YA audience" as she clearly was.

[Beeje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read other Shackleton history and finding it engrossing, I came across this e-book at my local library. It's all based on fact (real events and people), but the author took creative license with the characters themselves, how they interacted, and the sequence of events. It was a very quick read for me, mainly because almost every chapter was filled with angst and peril. At some points it was so glum I could barely continue reading, but of course I had to finish; if these brave explorers could hold out, so could I (plus I already knew how it would end). I enjoyed the story and am now going to look for more about Shackleton and perhaps Scott and Amundsen as well; I might see what else Victoria McKernan has written too.

[Amanda Honeycutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

We can thank Sammi for introducing me to this new historical fiction topic that I’m now currently obsessed with and will be talking about a lot. I loved the writing style of this book and the characters. It blows my mind that this whole event/survival story taking place in ANTARCTICA happens at the same time the world was falling apart in ww1. Also love the facts included in the back of the map of their journey, timeline, and then snippets about the men on boards lives post survival

Spoiler alert below:
Makes me so mad that some of these young men survived this horrible thing and escaped death for months to then go back home and join the war and die. Feels so unfair after everything they endured.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing adventure story about Ernest Shackleton’s explorations to Antarctica. Survival, excruciating cold, and other elements of nature would intrigue middle school boys. There are some very graphic descriptions of hunting, amputation, primitive surgery, and other survival tactics the men resorted to, so the squeamish and sensitive readers are duly forewarned. Some mild profanity also, as the characters are sailors, but otherwise, I highly recommend this for middle school and up. This book definitely is on the “life is hard” bookshelf. If chosen for a family read-aloud, I would advise pre-reading it to ensure your preteens can handle the content.