Written by: Jean Craighead George
First line: Miyax pushed back the hood of her sealskin parka and looked at the Arctic sun.
Why you should read this book: This intense classic survival story about a girl who lives alone in the artic tundra with only a family of wolves for companionship and protection is the latest of my COVID reads: books that I probably should have read in the '80s or '90s but, for whatever reason, never got to. Julie is a determined heroine, mourning what she's lost but intent on hanging on to her life, so she uses the knowledge passed down to her by her father to observe and befriend a pack of wolves who eventually accept her and help her to live another day. Beautifully written and full of accurate descriptions of the natural world.
Why you shouldn't read this book: It's a classic and you should read it, although George seems to favor the word "Eskimo," and uses it interchangably with Inuit, which may be insensitive to Inuits, and some people (the librarian who I discussed it with when I decided to read it) may take offense at the implication of rape in a children's novel (to which I say—kids are aware of horrible crimes, and those who have been the victims of them or are at risk of becoming victims probably need to see their lives reflected in literature, while other kids needs to know that these crimes exist and hurt people.)
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