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Alaska
Page history last edited by hc 1 yr ago
HC
Mrs. Howell
Lang arts period 5
4/27/08
Critical Book Review
Williwaw! Knopf Paperbacks, 1999, 192 pp., $6.99
Tom Bodett ISBN 0-375-80687-3
What would you do, if you were in a tiny boat, stuck in one of Alaska’s fiercest storms? Could you survive? This is exactly the situation that Ivan and his sister, September, had to face in the exciting Alaskan adventure book Williwaw! by Tom Bodett.
Ivan and September, ages 12 & 13, are left home alone for a couple of weeks on an isolated coast of Alaska where telephones and electric power lines do not exist. Their dad, who was a commercial fisherman, was out crabbing trying to earn enough money to replace their family fishing boat which was lost at sea, during a fierce, autumn storm, known as a williwaw, seven years ago. Sadly, during that same violent storm, the children’s mother drowns.
Communicating by short wave radio, their dad tells the children that he will be fishing out at sea for another two weeks. Ivan and September convince him that they are responsible and will be just fine on their own for a couple more weeks. But a series of bad choices proves otherwise.
Ivan uses up the precious short wave radio batteries to play a video game. Knowing that they must maintain communication with their father, Ivan and September come up with a plan to make several trips across treacherous Alaskan waters out of Bag Bay to go into town and try to earn enough money to replace the shortwave radio batteries. This strictly goes against their dad’s two rules: 1) Never use the short wave radio batteries to play video games and, 2) Never go across the bay into town.
During one of their trips across the bay, Ivan and September find themselves in a life threatening situation during the middle of a sudden, violent storm. They must utilize courage, strength, and good survival skills until help arrives.
I enjoyed this Alaskan adventure book. I, too, live in Alaska and love spending time outdoors. Tom Bodett did a fantastic job of creating a believable Alaskan survival story that was full of suspense, action, and vivid details about Alaska’s geography, animals, and weather.
I recommend Williwaw! to anyone who likes outdoor, action adventure stories. I think that readers will come away with a new respect for Mother Nature and the sea.
— Hans Colberg
Alaska
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