BLACK ICE- Becca Fitzpatrick

I teach in a K-8 school. In my mind, that means I have to be ready, at any time, to talk to kids from 5-15 about books. I try, then, to read up and down the age spectrum and across a variety of genres. I also have a book, usually YA, but sometimes adult, in the car at all times.

For the past couple of weeks I have been reading (with my ears) BLACK ICE by Becca Fitzpatrick. When I read the back cover, I thought it was going to be a survival novel, kind of a YA version of HATCHET, and with a female main character. And with a little romance, which some of the older girls like a lot.  (I should be honest here. I don't read a lot of romance-y kind of books. Either for kids or for adults).

Here's the premise of the story. Britt Pfeiffer is a senior in high school. She convinces her best friend that they should back pack in the Tetons, rather than go to Hawaii with all of their friends for spring break. On the way there, they encounter a snowstorm, and hole up in a cabin with two young men. But then it turns out that the men are actually fugitives, attempting to find their way off the mountain. They want Britt, who has always depended on other people to take care of her, to guide them. Britt sets out with the men, believing that her ex-boyfriend, Calvin, will soon rescue her…

The story doesn't quite work for me. First, I can't imagine a seventeen-year-old's parent agreeing to a backpacking trip in the mountains, over spring break, when the weather is still dicey at best. And I wonder why Britt's father didn't check the weather report ahead of time. The romance part of the story is also a little much.

At the same time, when I suspend judgment, I can think of a whole group of eighth grade girls who might enjoy this book.  Some of them are not doing a whole lot of reading right now. And if I can get them reading something, and help them connect with an author who has several other books, well, that's definitely worth a shot.

Not my kind of book, but one that I am glad I read.