When I first began Jennifer Armstrong's Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World I just wanted to make it through. My regular readers will remember that I am typically not a big fan of non-fiction. Once I delved further into the story I realized the crew of the Endurance were experiencing my same slogan-just endure. This may seem like a dramatic comparison seeing as how Shackleton and his crew were shipwrecked at the bottom of the world, suffering from frostbite, forced to eat their sled dogs and surviving in a state of near hypothermia, but it was the only way I could relate to this story.The story of Shackleton and his crew is an extraordinary tale of survival. Shackleton and his crew of 27 men sailed through frozen oceans, survived the loss of their ship, found their way to land using lifeboats, and lived for 5 months on a virtually deserted frozen wasteland of an island. The most amazing part is that everyone survived (this is not a spoiler since this was a true event people may already know about).
This real life experience could make an amazing story but the way it was presented was hard to read. This would have been a gripping and powerful tale had it been presented as a non-fiction narrative. There is a small percentage of students that would love this book as is, and I will keep this book in the back of my mind for those students. However, the vast majority of the students I interact with are looking for stories-especially true stories. I would love to find the story of the Endurance and their South Pole expedition written as a narrative.
Enduring...that's kids stuff.
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