The White Darkness (review)

Antarctica has long been the obsession of fourteen-year-old Symone, a lonely girl who has made an imaginary confidant of Captain "Titus" Oates, who perished on the legendary Scott expedition to the coldest continent. She's therefore thrilled when eccentric Uncle Victor, her late father's business partner, turns a quick trip from England to France into a journey to the Antarctic, and she's shyly pleased when handsome young Sigurd, a Norwegian teen traveling with his father on the voyage, seems to take a shine to her. Soon, however, it becomes clear that Uncle Victor isn't an all-knowing expert who dotes on Symone but a crackpot who's pursuing a dangerous dream—the finding of secret connections to an interior world through Antarctica—and who's willing to sacrifice anyone and anything to attain it. There are touches of familiar genres and tropes here—mystery, survival story, romance, fascination with an unobtainable idol—but ultimately this is a wholly original piece. Even readers who see beyond Symone's rose-tinted vision of Uncle Victor will be shocked by the consequences of his obsession as Symone gradually uncovers both his present intentions and his past deeds. When the situation becomes truly dire, Symone's beloved Titus, who formerly bolstered her in the face of nothing more brutal than sniping classmates, becomes a staunch ally who both marshals and represents her strength (for extra enjoyment, the book eventually hints that his presence may not be so imaginary after all). McCaughrean has clearly done her research and fans of polar travel will certainly want to journey with Symone, while the intrigue and the unexpected story will draw a variety of sophisticated readers ready for something unusual and compelling.