INTERMEDIATE FICTION
(4) 4-6 Feeling overprotected by his mother yet pressured by the gangstas in his gritty D.C. neighborhood, Alvin, twelve, decides to follow in the footsteps of his hero, Matthew Henson. And, yes, via train, bus, plane, and dogsled, the boy does make it to the Arctic. While the story is sometimes preachy and implausible, Napoli makes Alvin's journey vivid, and fans of survival stories will want to go along.

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