Souls of the North Wind [Hardcover]

Chrissy McVay (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chrissy K. McVay lives with her family in the mountains of western North Carolina. Her short stories have appeared in Aim Magazine, Fiction Primer, and other publications. Souls of the North Wind is her first novel.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 182 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595672299
• ISBN-13: 978-0595672295
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,400,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chrissy K. McVay lives with her family in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. She enjoys writing short stories, novels and also crafts screenplays and stage plays. Though raised on the flat farmlands of Constantine, Michigan up through her teenage years, the mountains surrounding her current home have provided abundant creative inspiration. When she's not writing, she enjoys hiking with her family and their two dogs. Her web site is located at: www.Nextcat.com/authorchrissykmcvay

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story, skillfully told!, March 5, 2006

By 

Carolyn Rowe Hill "author of 'The Dead Angel" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Souls of the North Wind (Paperback)

Chrissy McVay's Souls of the North Wind is a wonderful tale of two teen-aged Inuit boys who seek to remove a spell put on one of them and to destroy the ancient creature determined to destroy the same boy. The story takes place in the barrens of the Canadian tundra where the boys live with their people, the Ihalmiut tribe (people of the deer). Time is running out for these natives who have spent generations living on the tundra, surviving largely on caribou and deer (tuktu). The mothers of both boys were among the many that have died in recent years from starvation during the devastating winter months.

Iksik is attacked on his way back from a Kabluna (white man) village and believes the attack is the result of a curse put on him by the Nattilik witch, Agara. The people in his village begin to blame him for a series of disasters that take place after he returns, almost dead, from his trading mission. For Iksik's safety, he and his cousin, Kiviok, who can communicate with dogs and who has the makings of a great shaman (medicine man/spiritual advisor) to the tribe, leave the village at the urging of their fathers. The story then follows the boys on their journey to find Agara and make her retract her curse, and to destroy the frightening creature with the horrid, yellow eyes that stalks them along the way, before he destroys them.

Souls of the North Wind is classified as juvenile fiction for ages 9 - 12. I can easily see the book being read to early elementary school students as well as part of unit about the Alaskan/Canadian tundra and the people who live there. With the 2006 Alaskan Iditarod currently underway (03/04/06), Souls of the North Wind would fit nicely into a unit on the Iditarod. There's a great opportunity in this book to learn new words, words from another culture. Reading about a culture very different from our own is also good for our children; to learn how the members of a tribe must work together to survive. Even young children have their tasks. McVay tells her story so well the reader will be captivated from page one.

Carolyn Rowe Hill

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magnificent Adventure Tale, January 4, 2006

By 

E. Kostro "An author and bookreviewr" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Souls of the North Wind (Paperback)

Author Chrissy McVay has written a marvelous adventure story set in the frozen northland and centering around two brave determined young Inuit boys and their courageous dogs. Although this novel was written for a juvenile audience, I believe it will appeal to readers of all ages who love action, adventure, suspense, and extremely intriguing ancient Native American legends and lore as much as I do. Author McVay has really done her homework here, and the result is one fabulous book. I couldn't put it down!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, great book, July 13, 2005

By 

J. Meirose (Somerville NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Souls of the North Wind (Paperback)

Imagine you're a young Inuit teenager on a special mission from your tribe...find the witch who put a hex on your cousin and have her remove it. This is the reason Kiviok and Iksik set out across the Canadian tundra with two sled dogs as their only companions. Add to the story a sea monster, unscrupulous gold miners and a large forest denizen, and you've got the ingredients for an enchanting adventure story for young readers. There's enough tribal lore and excellent writing to satisfy older readers also.