Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - North Yarmouth Academy, Yarmouth, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: September 6, 2014

Review

A graphic novel depicting the heroic age of Antarctic exploration during the early 1900s, and detailing, specifically, the attempt by Ernest Shackleton to cross the Antarctic by foot in 1914. Shackleton's ship was, instead, stuck in the ice and he and his men were forced to leave the ship, which was ultimately crushed by the ice and sunk, and live on the ice for 10 months. Bertozzi compresses some of the details for brevity's sake, but he uses the journals of the crew to illustrate how they survived and what they did to pass the time (ice soccer, anyone?). Students familiar with Endurance by Alfred Lansing will eat up this graphic depiction of the voyage, and students/readers unfamiliar with the story may be intrigued enough to read more about the fascinating Shackleton. Recommended.

Overall Book Score: excellent