Williwaw! by Bodett, Tom; Slattery, Joan - 2000

New York U. S. A.: Dell - Yearling. New 2000. Softcover. Marfree, tight later prtg, not marked-in, underscored, clearance or discard. Mails from NYC usually within 12 hours. ; Yearling Books; 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches; 192 pages; \nFrom Publishers Weekly When 13-year-old September and her younger brother, Ivan, are left alone in their Alaskan cabin, disaster is sure to followAthat much is evident early on, given the steady stream of foreshadowing. Shortly after their father leaves for a two-week fishing trip, September and Ivan break both of his rules. Ivan uses radio batteries to recharge his video game and in doing so manages to fry both his toy and the radio, their only means of communication with the outside world. Fearing they will be sent to their aunt's and uncle's farm if their father finds out, the siblings cross the cove in their tiny boat to get the radio fixed. Repairs take longer than expected, so September and Ivan are forced to make a few more forbidden trips to town as the "williwaw, " the same type of fierce storm that killed their mother seven years ago, begins to brew. By an NPR commentator and author of The Free Fall of Webster Cummings, this moralistic tale is focused more on measuring the pitfalls of deception than on providing thrills. How and when the children will be punished for their errors in judgment may provoke more interest than how they will contend with rough water during their final crossing. Meanwhile, readers may grow impatient as they await the inevitable. Ages 10-13. Copyright 1999 Reed. From School Library Journal Grade 5-8-September and Ivan Crane, ages 13 and 12, are growing up in an isolated cove in coastal Alaska with their commercial-fisherman father. Their only neighbors are loons, ravens, the occasional bear, and nosy Mr. Berger, who keeps his telescope trained on the Cranes' comings and goings. As autumn comes to the cove, the children's father is at sea, crabbing to earn money to replace his fishing boat that was lost when his wife drowned years ago. Speaking to him over the radio, Ivan and September convince him to let them stay alone while he extends his fishing trip rather than face the dreaded alternative of staying with older relatives. Because they are fairly self-sufficient, their only real fear is that cranky Berger will report their father's absence to the authorities. Despite all intentions to be responsible, Ivan succumbs to his addiction to video games and accidentally blows their vital radios; September, eager to maintain their cover and their independence, organizes several forbidden trips in their motor boat across the bay to town. As the two weave a growing web of fibs to their father, to a kindly mail-boat captain, and to Berger, readers will see that disaster must follow, but Bodett produces a humdinger of a williwaw that catches the children before they can put things right and creates a well-paced adventure story. Sue Sherif, Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Library, AK Copyright 1999 Reed. .