The White Darkness

Review: The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
Age suggestion: High School and adult
Cultural references: Antarctica, Symmes's Hole, Deafness/Disability
Recomended: Highly

The White Darkness is one of the most original books I have read in a long time. The narrator is a 15 year old girl who is willingly abducted by her eccentric uncle to go along on an expedition to the South Pole. The book is quite masterful in its characterization of the narrator in that only slowly does the reader realize that the narrator herself is both unreliable and eccentric, if not quite as crazy as her uncle. The book is suspenseful and fun to read. I suggest it for high school and above because I think most middle schoolers will miss some of the subtle ways the author introduces the foibles and self-delusions of the narrator.