Publisher's Weekly Review
A thought-provoking graphic novel about the exploration of the Arctic, this debut examines three interconnected stories, two of which are based on actual early 20th-century expeditions. The third is a fictional story of a midlife crisis set in the present. Tenured professor Sully Barnaby's personal life in Hanover, N.H., has come under scrutiny due to a relationship with a student; while dealing with the stress, he begins his own investigation into a pair of Arctic expeditions. One of these is the amazing story of Robert Bartlett, who saved numerous lives on the ill-fated Karluk Expedition. The other involves Ada Blackjack, an Iñupiat woman who survived for two years while stranded on Wrangel Island. Healy's narrative gains power from the interconnecting stories and a carefully chosen thematic color palette, but above all it is powered by his brilliant handling of the wordless panels where so much of the story is told. Each of the stories is interesting in its own right. Taken together, they form a wonderful narrative about what human beings search for and what they give up in the process. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Two early-20th-century expeditions intertwine with a 21st-century story in Healys debut graphic novel.Retellings of the Arctic adventures of Robert Bartlett, a white ships captain, and Ada Blackjack, an Eskimo seamstress, unspool alongside the present-day midlife crisis of Sully Barnaby, a white university professor who is researching the two figures. In 1913, Capt. Bartlett resignedly sets sail from Nome, Alaska, at the behest of the overzealous (and irresponsible) explorer Vilhjamur Stefansson and a bevy of scientists with their sights set on the Arctic. In 1921, also in Nome, Ada Blackjack agrees to be the seamstress on an expedition to claim an Arctic island for Canada, leaving her ailing son behind, in the hope of earning enough money to get him treatment. And in 2013, Sullys affair with a male student has been sussed out, and the middle-aged professor reluctantly begins his mandatory sabbatical by exploring Stefanssons papers and learning about Bartletts and Blackjacks journeys. The novel alternates among the three strands, overlapping people and events, fact and fiction, in an intricate narrative pattern of challenge, crisis, and survival for each of the three protagonists. Healys command of visual storytelling coupled with a palette of pastels reminiscent of the northern lights provides the thread of continuity that holds the weave together. Two parts historical, one part invention, a quiet contemplation and celebration of the tenacity of the human spirit. (afterword, authors note) (Graphic novel. 14 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Three intertwined stories make up comics artist and colorist Healy's first graphic novel. Two are fact-based narratives of arctic expeditions taking place in the early twentieth century, and the third is the fictional story of a New Hampshire college professor who's studying the expeditions in the present day. Each arctic-bound exploration experiences insurmountable difficulties, losing men and making castaways of Healy's real-life heroes on separate trips, Robert Bartlett and Ada Blackjack, in the process. In 2013, Sully's happy for a distraction. He's been accused, correctly, of carrying on with a student, and the library is the perfect place to spend his forced sabbatical, focusing on disasters that aren't his. Healy's artwork, composed in many small panels, is extremely appealing, clever, and emotive, with different cool, primary-pastel palettes clearly defining each separate story and simplified figures that are quickly identifiable from dress and stature. Centering his story on real people, Healy lights his contemplation of the lure of inhospitable places and the often regrettable decisions they inspire men and women to make from an intriguing angle.--Bostrom, Annie Copyright 2016 Booklist
