"Emotionally satisfying and insightful,
this story has staying power."
—Booklist
"...an easy sell for reluctant readers."
—School Library Journal
Sometimes I wish I could trade places with the dogs. They only have to worry about running and eating. They love fiercely and don't worry about things they can't control. And when someone dies, they can sit on top of their house, throw their head back and howl.
Lost.
That's how 14-year-old dogsledder Victoria Secord has felt ever since her father died. A champion musher, Victoria is independent, self-reliant, and thanks to her father, an expert in surviving the unforgiving Alaskan bush. When an injured "city boy" and a freak snow storm both catch Victoria and her dog team by surprise, however, a routine trip becomes a life or death trek through the frozen wilderness. As temperatures drop and food stores run out, Victoria must find a way to save them all in this high stakes, high adventure middle grade novel of endurance, hope and finding your way back home.
Terry Lynn Johnson is a musher herself, and her crackling writing puts readers at the reins as Victoria and Chris experience setbacks, mistakes, and small triumphs in their wilderness adventure.
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"(A) thoroughly engaging and incredibly suspenseful survival story... Well crafted, moving and gripping."
—Kirkus (read the full review)
"A page-turner full of white-knuckle action...Readers will be riveted until the end."
—Publishers Weekly (read the full review)
"A bold heroine at the heart of Ice Dogs will empower young readers."
—BookPage (read the full review)
"A riveting survival story, perfect for middle school and high school readers who love Gary Paulsen and are ready for something a little older."
—Kate Messner, author of Wake Up Missing and Capture the Flag (read the full review)
"A survival story with heart"
—Irene Latham, author of Leaving Gee's Bend and Don't Feed the Boy (read the full review)
"Ice Dogs is both a great sled dog story and a suspenseful tale of winter survival. The story's emotional depth is interwoven with the action. I found it authentic to the North, and read it in one gulp."
—Will Hobbs, author of Far North and Never Say Die
"Ice Dogs is written by a woman who knows her mushing; Terry Lynn Johnson should be ready for comparisons to the best of Gary Paulsen, Farley Mowat, and Jean Craighead George."
—Carole Estby Dagg, author of The Year We Were Famous
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Hardcover, February 2014, ISBN: 9780547899268