Between Two Worlds
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Inspired by a true story, Between Two Worlds is an impassioned coming-of-age novel set in a land of breathtaking beauty and danger, where nature and love are powerful and unpredictable forces.
On the treeless shores of Itta, Greenland, as far north as humans can settle, sixteen-year-old Inuit Billy Bah spots a ship far out among the icebergs on the bay—a sight both welcome and feared. Explorers have already left their indelible mark on her land and its people, and a ship full of white men can mean trouble.
The ship carries provisions for Robert E. Peary, who is making an expedition to the North Pole. Peary and Billy Bah have a history—as a child, she spent a year in America with his family. When Peary’s ship gets caught in the ice, Billy Bah sets out on a harrowing quest to find him.
Billy Bah’s journey is one that will bring her to the very literal edge of the earth, imperil her life and question what it means to be between two worlds.
“Rich details . . . create a total immersion in Inuit life.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred
“An intriguing viewpoint to a place and time rarely written about in young adult fiction.” —SLJ
“A compelling . . . portrait of a community accustomed to life on the knife edge of survival, of extraordinary beauty and harsh realities. . . . A rare look at culture clash arising from polar exploration.” —Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kirkpatrick sets this engrossing work of historical fiction in Greenland in 1900 1901, when an American ship arrives with supplies for Arctic explorer Robert E. Peary; on board are his wife and 10-year-old daughter (whose story Kirkpatrick told in her nonfictional 2007 book The Snow Baby). Narrator Billy Bah is a 16-year-old married Inuit woman who lived in America with Peary's family for a year during her childhood. Her experiences motivated her parents to follow suit, but they died in America. Deeply Inuit in spiritual foundation and lifestyle, Billy Bah nevertheless feels caught between cultures, a feeling that intensifies when her husband begins trading her (a common Inuit practice) to an American sailor to whom she grows deeply attracted. Rich details about building igloos; hunting, preparing, and eating animals; and sewing clothing from their skins and furs (Billy Bah is an expert seamstress who outfitted Peary's expeditions) create a total immersion in Inuit life. While the sexuality isn't explicit, the story's mature themes recommend it to older readers. Includes extensive and equally fascinating historical notes, as well as a timeline of the real-life events. Ages 14 up.
