"Even the dead tell stories," begins Sedgwick's slim yet taut and complex thriller about a family barely surviving in 1910 along the Swedish-Finnish border, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Sig pieces together the story his father, Einar Andersson, is trying to tell after he discovers his frozen body on a slowly thawing lake, a risk his father would never take, and a one-thumbed, vengeful man named Gunther Wolff arrives, demanding the gold he claims he was cheated out of by Sig's father. Alternating chapters between Sig and his older sister's struggle with Wolff and their life ten years ago in the mining town of Nome, when their father was an assayist testing the purity of gold during a rush in the Alaska Territory, untangle Einar's clues. Always looming in Sig's past and present is his father's Colt revolver and the moral dilemma: "To pull the trigger, or not to pull the trigger?" Is violence ever necessary? A chilling, atmospheric story that will haunt readers with its descriptions of a desolate terrain and Sig's difficult decisions. (author's note) (Thriller. YA)

Set in 1910, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle in the Scandinavian town of Giron, this intense survival story is propelled by a relentless sense of danger and bone-chilling cold. Einar, teenage Sig's father, has died after a fall through the ice. But the harsh environment pales in comparison with the ruthless stranger, Gunther Wolff, who demands from Sig and his sister the gold their father allegedly stole from him a decade earlier in the Alaska Gold Rush. Sedgwick (My Swordhand Is Singing) reveals the truth in riveting, gemlike scenes that juggle time periods, points of view, and the family's divided worldview, epitomized by Einar's Colt revolver. “Guns are evil. Evil, Einar,” says Sig's pacifist mother, while the more pragmatic Einar believes his Colt is “the most beautiful thing in the world.” In the end, the gun plays a pivotal role as Sig must shape his own view and act accordingly. Gracefully weaving in sources as diverse as the Old Testament story of Job and an 1896 ad for the revolver, Sedgwick lures his readers into deeper thinking while they savor this thrillingly told tale. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)

A memorable tale, one that will appeal to fans of Gary Paulsen, Jack London, and even Cormac McCarthy.” —The Horn Book, Starred Review

“Sedgwick lures his readers into deeper thinking while they savor this thrillingly told tale.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“A chilling, atmospheric story that will haunt readers with its descriptions of a desolate terrain and Sig's difficult decisions.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“The bleak setting and ominous circumstances will draw immediate comparisons to a Jack London tale, but in a more accessible, spare style. Reluctant readers will be riveted by the suspense and the short chapters.” —School Library Journal, Starred Review

“A carefully crafted story effectively rigidified by taut plotting and the crystalline atmospherics of its isolated setting.” —Booklist

“An elegant, brilliantly executed tale. . . . This novel of only 167 pages is packed with more excitement and wisdom than many twice its length.” —The Times (London)

“A gripping thriller.” —The Guardian

Gr 7 Up—Narrator Peter Berkrot chillingly and expertly brings to life Marcus Sedgwick's short, yet intense mystery (Roaring Brook, 2010). Pitch-perfect voicing, suspenseful and satisfying pacing, and spot-on character portrayals draw listeners inside the cold and brutal atmosphere of a lonely cabin 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle in 1910. Sig, the 14-year-old son of a practical and proud man, is alone in a small, dark cabin with his father's dead body awaiting the return of his sister and his stepmother who have gone to find help after his father was found frozen to death. But he doesn't have long to grieve alone before a large and fearsome man enters the cabin claiming that the boy's father had cheated prospectors out of gold. As Sig tries to reconcile this confusing news with pieces of his past, listeners will do the same along with him and two inanimate objects that take on character roles within the story—the old Colt revolver his father taught him to shoot and the Colt revolver belonging to the ominous stranger. The backstory is told through flashbacks to the 1899 Alaska gold rush in alternating segments. Berkrot's fully-voiced and emotive telling will keep listeners on the edge as they visualize Sig, his surroundings, and every moment in time from beginning to the satisfying and climactic end. An excellent choice for school and public libraries and an ideal selection for reluctant readers.—Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY

A chilling adventure set in the Far North, this Printz Honor Book introduces listeners to Sig Anderson, a teenage boy alone in a tiny cabin above the Arctic Circle with the frozen body of his father. When Sig is menaced by an intruder, he remembers the Colt revolver in a box in the storage room, and his father's careful instructions on how the pistol works. The twisty action swings between 1910 and the period of the Gold Rush in 1899. Peter Berkrot’s excellent storytelling voice subtly reminds listeners that a narrator doesn't need to lard a piece with gimmicky accents to grip the mind's eye. He narrates with an immediacy and urgency that make this hard to stop listening to. M.M.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine