Ada Blackjack : A True Story of Survival in the Arctic

by Jennifer Niven

Release Date: 12 November, 2003

Edition: Hardcover

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Great storytelling

I got this book for Christmas and couldn't put it down. I devoured it in two days, but I should have rationed it because I was sorry I rushed through once I had finished. (I couldn't help it-- the story was riveting.) I'm going back now to read more carefully, but I just couldn't resist writing a review first. Ms. Niven has done a masterful job telling the story of a young, brave Inuit woman who has sadly been forgotten through the years. Ada Blackjack-- both woman and book-- is an inspiration, and the four young men who were her comrades on this hair-raising expedition are finely-drawn, compelling characters as well. The story isn't without villains too, but that makes it all the more interesting. If you are looking for a can't-put-it-down, lose-yourself-to-the-world kind of read, this is it. I shut off my phone and locked my door and ignored the rest of the world for two glorious days.

A beautiful book

I was lucky enough to sneak a peek at an advanced copy of Niven's book, Ada Blackjack, and found myself swept away by this riveting story about an Inuit woman who was the lone survivor of a grueling expedition. If you are tired of the Arctic genre, don't despair-- this transcends Arctic adventure. Although part of it is set in the Arctic, it is really the story about an amazing, extraordinary woman and her journey to survive, both in the ice and in civilization. I was a fan of Niven's first book, The Ice Master, and am even more of a fan now. Her prose is immediate, accessible, gripping, and skilled, and I love the way she weaves a story, making this reader forget he is receiving a history lesson as, all the while, he is speeding to the last page, desperate to see how it ends.