Northern Exposures

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

Once a straight A student, 13-year-old Kevin confounds his
high-achieving, workaholic parents with lower grades and no more piano
and art lessons, Tae Kwan Do, or soccer. They enroll in family therapy
to “fix” Kevin, who admits: “All I really needed was a break, from
them and from all the activities and all the expectations, they put on
top of me all the time.”

Winning the Mississauga News photo contest earns Kevin a free trip to
Churchill, Manitoba, to photograph polar bears. On a seniors’
photography tour led by Charlie, a wildlife photographer and guide,
Kevin is awed by the sheer size and power of the bears. With his partner
in adventure, Charlie’s niece Loretta, he joins two Natural Resources
biologists in capturing problem bears and incarcerating them in “bear
jail.” He and Loretta also tangle with a suspected poacher who guides
his clients in illegal wildlife hunting.

The author has apparently based his story on the real-life experiences
of Kevin Spreekmeester, a successful photographer. Kevin is a wryly
humorous and engaging protagonist who narrates events using fast-paced
description and realistic dialogue. Some of the secondary characters are
well defined, while others simply flush out the plot as types. While
crediting the young hero with pictures published in National Geographic
might be taking fiction just a little too far, Walters has created a
well-paced adventure that should entertain young readers. Recommended.