The Brainstorm Plus: Brainstorm 316: Some Chilly Reads for Hot Season

Hot season has come with a full force steam sauna this year. One of the joys of reading is the ability to slip away from reality for a bit into another place, and right now, a bit of a colder place sounds vastly appealing. So today I bring you stories both real and imagined from the polar regions. Maybe a bit of time reading about ice, snow, and bitter cold will help. Click on the titles to see my full review of each book including any content notes/trigger warnings. Enjoy, and keep cool!

Ember and the Ice Dragons by Heather Fawcett

Ember is the last of the fire dragons. Or so she thinks. Her adopted Stormancer father found her as a baby and though fire dragons have a fierce personality, he couldn't bear to kill her. Instead he put a spell on her so she appears as a normal human child (with invisible wings that didn't fully cooperate with the spell). Though she can easily fool most people that she's a normal human, she doesn't like to get too close just in case. Also, she has a tendency to burst into flame, especially during the summer. And this summer, she is having a horrible time controlling her flames. Worried that she's going to burn her father to a crisp by accident, Ember gets her scientist Aunt Myra in Antarctica to invite her to stay for the summer. Ember arrives in Antarctica along with a whole crowd of dragon hunters eager to join Prince Gideon's hunt for ice dragons. Ember can't stand the idea of dragons being killed, so she and two other kids from the research station come up with a plan to join the hunt and sabotage it in as many little ways they can think of that won't get them caught. But can three kids really stop greedy adults from their prey?

A very fun Antarctic fantasy adventure with dragons, lightning-shooting penguins, and snarky talking cats.

Target Readers: Fantasy Fans, Mythical Creature Fans, Humor Fans, Adventure Fans, Antarctic Setting Fans, Middle Grade Readers

Frozen in Time: an Epic Story of Survival, and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff

During WWII there were several bases on Greenland because the Allies were worried about the Nazis using it as a station for attacking North America. So the Allies patrolled a very inhospitable land and used it as a way station for transport to Europe. Greenland being the cold, nasty, death trap that it is, inevitably, some planes did not make it across on their missions. One such plane crash led to a whole string of other crashes, some miraculous stories of survival and heroism, but also more disasters. This is that story, but it is also the story of a modern team of people trying to find the wreckage of one of the planes buried in the ice and bring home the remains of the servicemen still stuck there.

Not always an easy read, but a well-written and riveting read.

Target Readers: WWII History Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Greenland Setting Fans, Rescue/Survival Story Fans, Adult Readers (though approachable for YA)

The Girl from Shadow Springs by Ellie Cypher

Jorie has lived all her life in Shadow Springs. Through her life, winter has taken more and more time and now it seems to be here permanently. Since her Pa's death, she's eked out a living for herself and her sister Bren by dragging lost souls off of the ice and selling anything worth reselling they happened to have on them. The latest man Jorie has found dead on the ice brings a heap more trouble with him than Jorie imagined. A Rover shows up and thinks Jorie has taken something he wants very badly off of the dead man. He doesn't believe she knows nothing, so he kidnaps Bren and takes her off as his hostage until Jorie can hand over what he wants. Jorie has no clue what the man wants, but Cody, the dead man's nephew may have an idea. Jorie thinks taking a soft Southerner with her into the wilds on her rescue mission is suicide for both of them, but he may be her only hope of getting Bren back. They set off into the ice and snow with a dog sled team and the supplies Jorie was able to hastily throw together.

This was a very unique blend of a hard ol' Western story (think True Grit) mixed with crazy polar expedition/survival story and dashes of The Snow Queen fairy tale (not the Disney version, the much creepier original fairy tale version). It is hard to tell from the description, but there are fantasy elements to the story.

Target Readers: Western Fans, Winter Survival Story Fans, Fairy Tale Rewrite Fans, Quest Story Fans, Fantasy Fans, Young Adult Readers

Journey to the Arctic photography by Florian Schulz, text by Florian Schulz and Emil Herrera-Schulz, preface by Greg MacGillivray

A collection of incredible photographs of Arctic wildlife accompanied by text by the photographer and his wife, explaining their travels and interactions with the animals in the photos.

Target Readers: Photography Fans, Animal Lovers, Adult Readers (but approachable for all ages)

Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter

Maddie is the daughter of a secret service agent assigned to the President of the United States. Maddie doesn't mind, as Logan, the President's son, is her best friend. At least they were best friends until one night when Russians invaded the White House and a number of things went wrong. Now, 6 years later, Maddie and her dad live in Alaska, and Maddie is over missing Logan. At least, that's what she's told herself. It is harder to convince herself of that when he shows up to stay with them for a while. Logan has given his secret service guys the slip one too many times, given the President and First Lady one too many headaches, and is paying for it by being shipped off to a place with no parties, no internet, and no trouble for him to get into. Maddie lets Logan follow her off into the woods to help with morning chores while her father flies off to help with some kind of emergency a plane flight away. A storm is moving in and Maddie knows they need to collect wood and get other chores done before it hits. But she has no idea that something worse than a storm has moved in to the area. The Russians are back, and they are after Logan. But they didn't bargain with Alaskan-hardened, secret service agent-trained Maddie being around.

An easily devourable mix of secret service thriller, estranged friends working things out, and Alaskan winter survival story.

Target Reader: Winter Survival Story Fans, Friendship Story Fans, Alaskan Setting Fans, Contemporary Fiction Fans, Thriller Fans, Young Adult Readers

Race to the Bottom of the Earth by Rebecca E.F. Barone

A look at the 2018 efforts of Colin O'Brady and Lou Rudd to cross the Antarctica landmass unassisted. Every other chapter, the book also looks at the Roald Amundsen and Captain Robert Scott expeditions to be the first to the South Pole in 1910. The juxtaposition of the two challenges, over a century apart, reveals timeless challenges of surviving in Antarctica and getting anywhere in the cold, inhospitable climate.

Target Readers: Extreme Sports/Survival Story Fans, Antarctica Setting Fans, History Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Young Adult Readers

The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage

Dr Morley sets out with a crew to find the elusive and possibly mythical giant Arctic jellyfish. Is it real? Can they find it?

Though a fictional, slightly fantastic picture book this gives readers a decent picture of what a scientific expedition can be like. And pay close attention to the absolutely stunning illustrations. Who is studying who?

Target Readers: Little Scientists, Art Lovers, Arctic Setting Fans, Sea Voyage Story Fans, Animal Lovers, Hide-n-Seek Fans, Picture Book Readers

The White Darkness by David Grann

A biography of former SAS officer Henry Worsley who idolized Ernest Shackleton and set out to follow in his footsteps in Antarctica three times. Twice Worsley went with teams and did treks to the pole. In his third time on the continent Worsley set out to cross Antarctica solo.

At just 146 pages including photographs, this is a quick dive into Antarctic trekking.