Thunder Ice

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Set in 1879, Alison Acheson’s first juvenile novel takes place in the
area of present-day Thunder Bay, Ontario, which was then two separate
and competing communities, Fort William and Prince Arthur’s Landing.
John Tate, an unemployed Fort William resident and father of 12-year-old
Oliver, the story’s central character, has, for reasons unknown, had a
fist-fight with his brother, Will, a shop owner in Prince Arthur’s
Landing and father of Bert, Oliver’s best friend. As a consequence of
their fathers’ quarrel, the two cousins become estranged.

This book suffers from a slow pace, unresolved subplots, and a lack of
authentic dramatic tension. John Tate’s decision to take on the highly
risky job of transporting nitroglycerine offers some exciting
possibilities, but his trip occurs offstage. Thunder Ice is essentially
a period piece about friendship. Recommended with reservations.