A SUFFRAGIST'S GUIDE TO THE ANTARCTIC

A young suffragist writes a real-time log of her adventures in Antarctica.

Lai takes Sir Ernest Shackleton’s famous 1914 expedition to Antarctica and adds a twist: How would adding a woman to the crew have affected the story? In her version, 18-year-old white American girl Clara Ketterling-Dunbar claims to be 21 and Canadian, since the Brits aren’t happy that America hasn’t yet joined the Great War. As Clara begins her story, their ship, the Resolute, has sunk after being crushed by pack ice. The 28 stranded crew members need to work together harmoniously in order to have any chance of survival. With her heart still tied to the women’s suffrage movement she fought for, Clara bristles at being asked to make biscuits and mend clothing. But while she abandoned her mother as well as her American and British pro-suffrage colleagues for falling short of her ideals, she can’t abandon her crewmates. When one she refers to as the Villain attempts to rape her, Clara fights him off, badly injuring him and causing a rift in the party. And yet they must try to survive. As a character, Clara feels modern but not anachronistic; she’s wrestling with social issues that continue to resonate today, and her strong voice propels readers through an adventure as compelling as Shackleton’s own to a heartfelt, realistic conclusion.

Polar exploration transforms a young woman in unexpected and interesting ways in this original, evocative tale.