alaska

“Normal is whatever you grow used to, like wildfires choking the life out of everything.  Or a town that live through its children, over and over again, until nobody remembers a time when that wasn’t the case.”

Each chapter is its own short story.  Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock does a fabulous job intertwining the lives of several teenagers from small towns in the American West and Alaska.  The collection is relatable, full of heart and hope with stories about a wildfire, a camp, as well as a mysterious disappearance.  (My personal favorite was Parking-Lot Flowers about a teenage boy who picks up a

Seventeen year old Tracy Petrikoff loves the outdoors. She is an avid hunter with an unusual... proclivity for the animals she kills. Her family is heavily involved with dog sledding but following her mother's death,  they struggle financially after her father gives up mushing and sells the majority of their sled dogs. Tracy keeps hoping to change his mind about her competing in upcoming mushing events, but after she is suspended from school for fighting, her dad grounds her from taking care of the remainder of their dogs and roaming the woods surrounding their home. Headstrong and stubborn

Alaska. I imagine it’s the most remote you can get while remaining on American soil. If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to pack your bags and move there, save yourself the trip and read Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs first.

Lende, an obituary writer in the small town of Haines, brings her friends, family, and neighbors to life. And life is different there. Short growing seasons, the speed with which a “moose can turn a ten-year-old apple orchard into a few stumpy sticks or the way even a very young bear can rip the branches right off of a loaded cherry tree, not to

To the Bright Edge of the World deserves all the praise it has been receiving. In 1885, newly-married Colonel Allen Forrester leads a small group of men on an expedition into untamed Alaska Territory to explore the possibilities for future settlements and trade routes. He leaves his pregnant wife, Sophie, behind and they exchange letters, writing about the hardships they each face while away from the other.

It is written mainly as a series of journal entries, but photographs, drawings, newspaper articles, and official army reports are interspersed, making it seem more like memoir than a work

While reporter Adam Carlson is on assignment in Barrow, Alaska, he stumbles across the story of three trapped whales.  Big Miracle, a movie inspired by a true story, happened in 1988.  It shows actual footage of the events that unfolded in this remote part of Alaska. Footage includes Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Mike Wallace.  It was a lot of fun to see these three icons from 24 years ago.  It’s a story about diverse groups who band together to help save, Wilma, Fred and their baby, BamBam.  There were a few parts that looked forced and uncomfortable but, aside from those, this movie is