What do you think?
Rate this book
Arctic Thunder
Runner Golden Eagle Children’s Choice Book Award
2012 Manitoba Young Readers Choice Awards
Mike Watson’s team has just won the Alberta Bantam Provincial box lacrosse championships. The euphoria of victory and plans for next season are short-lived when Mike’s father, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is transferred to Inuvik, Northwest Territories.
The transition to life inside the Arctic Circle is a tough one for Mike, who is now fourteen. With temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius, a hulking monster named Joseph Kiktorak threatening him at every turn, and not a lacrosse ball in sight, Mike’s resentment at moving north escalates.
As his friendships with local youth develop, Mike is introduced to the amazing spectacle and athleticism of traditional “Arctic Sports.” When his father witnesses the natural talent of Mike’s new friends, the idea of an Inuvik lacrosse team is born! With hearts full of desire, the motley group of athletes heads south to Alberta to participate in the Baggataway Lacrosse Tournament, and to face Mike’s former team, the St. Albert Rams.
2012 Manitoba Young Readers Choice Awards
Mike Watson’s team has just won the Alberta Bantam Provincial box lacrosse championships. The euphoria of victory and plans for next season are short-lived when Mike’s father, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is transferred to Inuvik, Northwest Territories.
The transition to life inside the Arctic Circle is a tough one for Mike, who is now fourteen. With temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius, a hulking monster named Joseph Kiktorak threatening him at every turn, and not a lacrosse ball in sight, Mike’s resentment at moving north escalates.
As his friendships with local youth develop, Mike is introduced to the amazing spectacle and athleticism of traditional “Arctic Sports.” When his father witnesses the natural talent of Mike’s new friends, the idea of an Inuvik lacrosse team is born! With hearts full of desire, the motley group of athletes heads south to Alberta to participate in the Baggataway Lacrosse Tournament, and to face Mike’s former team, the St. Albert Rams.
- GenresYoung AdultSports
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
2 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Read
October 11, 2011When 14-year-old Mike Watson’s team wins the Alberta Bantam Provincial box lacrosse championships, he is elated. His joy is dashed when he discovers that his RCMP father has just been transferred to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Miserable about leaving his friends, Mike is reluctant to embrace the North. Gradually he begins to enjoy its features — great snowmobiling, his neighbour and elder Victor Allen, friendship with cheerful, nerdy Donnie Debastien and the fact that he looks more like the kids in his class than he ever did in Alberta. But he is horrified to discover that there is no lacrosse in Inuvik. In addition, two angry kids at school have it in for him.
When he witnesses his Inuvialuit and Gwich’in classmates practising Arctic sports, he is amazed at their athleticism. When they see him and Donnie playing a makeshift game of lacrosse, they in turn are intrigued. The result is a new lacrosse team (coached by Mike’s father) with some very unusual talents. It is a team that is headed south for the next Alberta tournament.
Author Robert Feagan clearly loves the North and vividly depicts Mike’s enjoyment of the land and what it has to offer. (Born in Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, Feagan was an RCMP child and he set his previous book, Mystery at Shildii Rock, in the 1950s in his birthplace.) Although his characters sometimes sound too grown up and the writing occasionally does more telling than showing, his descriptions of lacrosse (and other sports) are exciting and entertaining — throwing the reader into the middle of each game.
Arctic Thunder is a fast-moving read that will give many readers a sport and a part of Canada they are unfamiliar with. For northern readers or lacrosse enthusiasts, it will be a great way to find themselves in pages of an exciting book.
Reviewed by Gillian O’Reilly in Canadian Children's Book News (Winter 2011, Vol. 34, No. 1)
When he witnesses his Inuvialuit and Gwich’in classmates practising Arctic sports, he is amazed at their athleticism. When they see him and Donnie playing a makeshift game of lacrosse, they in turn are intrigued. The result is a new lacrosse team (coached by Mike’s father) with some very unusual talents. It is a team that is headed south for the next Alberta tournament.
Author Robert Feagan clearly loves the North and vividly depicts Mike’s enjoyment of the land and what it has to offer. (Born in Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, Feagan was an RCMP child and he set his previous book, Mystery at Shildii Rock, in the 1950s in his birthplace.) Although his characters sometimes sound too grown up and the writing occasionally does more telling than showing, his descriptions of lacrosse (and other sports) are exciting and entertaining — throwing the reader into the middle of each game.
Arctic Thunder is a fast-moving read that will give many readers a sport and a part of Canada they are unfamiliar with. For northern readers or lacrosse enthusiasts, it will be a great way to find themselves in pages of an exciting book.
Reviewed by Gillian O’Reilly in Canadian Children's Book News (Winter 2011, Vol. 34, No. 1)
December 9, 2010
Excerpt from my original review below. You can find my full review here: http://thebookpixie.blogspot.com/2010...
"Going in to Arctic Thunder, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. When I accepted it for review I thought it sounded pretty good and Dundurn has never done me wrong before so I thought, "Why, not. It's something different." I was not prepared for how much I was going to truly enjoy this novel.........
...........Arctic Thunder focuses primarily on self discovery and relationships between family and friends versus romantic ones and I always find this aspect refreshing when I happen across it. The dynamic incorporation of sports, both Lacrosse and Arctic Games, really helped build and strengthen the plot in a way that I was surprised to find how much I loved. There was also an inspirational type quality to this book and one thing I noticed was that Arctic Thunder often emphasizes the importance of not judging people before you get to know them. Not in a preachy way, but rather in a way that simply added depth and quality.................
..........All in all, Arctic Thunder was a quick, fun, and compelling read that caught me off guard by it's greatness and depth. It's a wonderful coming-of-age story and I think it would be a perfect read for boys ranging from middle grade to early teens. However, I still believe that this is a book that a wide variety of people could get enjoyment out of, unless you totally despise sports or something. I mean, after all, I'm an 18 year old girl and I really liked Arctic Thunder. This is definitely a book I'll be reading again in the future and I look forward to more of Robert Feagan's work."
"Going in to Arctic Thunder, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. When I accepted it for review I thought it sounded pretty good and Dundurn has never done me wrong before so I thought, "Why, not. It's something different." I was not prepared for how much I was going to truly enjoy this novel.........
...........Arctic Thunder focuses primarily on self discovery and relationships between family and friends versus romantic ones and I always find this aspect refreshing when I happen across it. The dynamic incorporation of sports, both Lacrosse and Arctic Games, really helped build and strengthen the plot in a way that I was surprised to find how much I loved. There was also an inspirational type quality to this book and one thing I noticed was that Arctic Thunder often emphasizes the importance of not judging people before you get to know them. Not in a preachy way, but rather in a way that simply added depth and quality.................
..........All in all, Arctic Thunder was a quick, fun, and compelling read that caught me off guard by it's greatness and depth. It's a wonderful coming-of-age story and I think it would be a perfect read for boys ranging from middle grade to early teens. However, I still believe that this is a book that a wide variety of people could get enjoyment out of, unless you totally despise sports or something. I mean, after all, I'm an 18 year old girl and I really liked Arctic Thunder. This is definitely a book I'll be reading again in the future and I look forward to more of Robert Feagan's work."
Read
February 26, 2011My favorite part of this book was the way the culture of the Arctic Circle was described and portrayed. I really enjoyed learning more about a region of the world that I didn't know much about. It was fascinating to read about the attitude and atmosphere that Mike encounters when he moves and how he learns to embrace a new culture as well as his own background.
Arctic Thunder contains many lessons that students (and adults, for that matter) can learn from. Mike has to keep an open mind and heart in order to accept his new home. He has to learn about the culture of those around them and give it the respect it deserves, learning more about himself in the process. He also learns to accept a few difficult individuals he meets as he learns more about their backgrounds. Ultimately, the inspirational message of the book is one of love and acceptance - about finding the good that lies in each person.
This book is extremely detail-oriented and action based. This was a little too much so for me personally, but I know that this will appeal greatly to young sports fans of all types, especially those who already love lacrosse. Because of the detail utilized in explaining lacrosse, I was able to understand how the game is played and to visualize the excitement of the sport. I can't wait to see how my students react to the story, particularly my reluctant boy readers.
Arctic Thunder contains many lessons that students (and adults, for that matter) can learn from. Mike has to keep an open mind and heart in order to accept his new home. He has to learn about the culture of those around them and give it the respect it deserves, learning more about himself in the process. He also learns to accept a few difficult individuals he meets as he learns more about their backgrounds. Ultimately, the inspirational message of the book is one of love and acceptance - about finding the good that lies in each person.
This book is extremely detail-oriented and action based. This was a little too much so for me personally, but I know that this will appeal greatly to young sports fans of all types, especially those who already love lacrosse. Because of the detail utilized in explaining lacrosse, I was able to understand how the game is played and to visualize the excitement of the sport. I can't wait to see how my students react to the story, particularly my reluctant boy readers.
December 9, 2010
Michael Watson's dad receives a promotion in the RCMP and is transferred mid-year to Inuvik, NWT to become Sergeant for the detachment there. Mike is none too thrilled to be uprooted from his home in St. Albert, Alberta and even more unhappy that he has to part ways with his lacrosse team, the St. Albert Rams. Life in Inuvik is cold and tough and Mike has to learn to cope with the cold, the dark, the new school and a small assortment of new classmates. "Arctic Thunder" is one of those niche books very obviously written for the middle school boy and one that very obviously takes the stance that sport (and in this case, lacrosse) can cure all of one's problems if you are male and fourteen.
December 25, 2010
Arctic Thunder was a novel that kept my interest throughout. That says quite a bit because I am a ten year old girl who doesn't usually read this kind of story. Most of the story really isn't about sports and I loved the character of Donnie the most. He made me laugh and really helped make the point that we can all be cool in our own way! I wish the author had of described more about Victor's camp but other than that I thought it was amazing. I watched some of the Arctic Sports on You Tube and they were cool as well as the Arctic Thunder trailer. I am going to find and read the authors other two books. I would recommend this book to boys and girls!!
April 28, 2012
A book with a lot of heart. Excellent sports action scenes. When I first glanced at the cover I thought this was a hockey book, but it's actually lacrosse. Mike moves from Alberta to Inuvik and has to make new friends and adapt to life in the North. A bit slow paced in spots, but good characters. I really liked Mike, Donnie and Gwen.
July 17, 2012
read it in an hour
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews