On Thin Ice

In spite of its name, no one in the tiny troubled hamlet of Nanurtalik-"the place with polar bears"-can remember seeing a polar bear in decades. The discovery of a teenager's mangled body on a nearby ice road signals the possible return of polar bears, which are being driven to new territories by a drastically changing arctic climate. This northern coastal community is thrown into chaos as another suspected bear attack sparks a flurry of bullets that whiz through town during a blinding six day blizzard. Was it a real bear or a phantom? No one can say for sure, but the community must find out before someone else dies. Sixteen-year-old Ashley Anowiak is swept into this storm of confusion by her special link with polar bears expressed through the magic of her art and the terror of her dreams. Led by a mysterious dancing shaman, she finds herself on the trail of Nanurluk, a legendary giant bear who has haunted her people for thousands of years. Ashley's bear hunt leads from the frozen catacombs beneath Nanurtalik to the treacherous ice fields capping the Arctic Ocean. As she closes in on the bear, Ashley's inner and outer worlds are torn apart, leaving her craving for solid ground to stand on. This is the story of a gifted northern youth struggling to find her true home and purpose in a fast-changing Arctic where climate, culture and environment seem to be crumbling all around her. www.onthinice.ca "The book_a psychological thriller, follows a half-Inuit girl's struggle to discover her hidden shamanic powers, set to the backdrop of violently changing weather in a fictional Northern community." -Yellowknifer "Bastedo's passion for the north leaps off the page. A page-turner...Shot-gunnedwith one nail-biting happening after another, from floods, to monster-storms, to bear attacks, even a jumbo jet hurtling out of the sky...A fine piece of work from a northern writer." -CBC Radio North "Takes reality a step further." -News North