North

The book I decided to read first for my independent reading was North by Donna Jo Napoli. It is about a boy named Alvin who has a over-protective mom. For Christmas all Alvin wanted was a mountain bike so he could take a bike trip with his Uncle Pete but he ends up getting a backpack. That is when his mom goes way to far. Alvin decides to go to the Arctic and be an Arctic explorer just like his role model Matthew Henson. Since Alvin saved up over 300 dollars in cash his whole life so having the right amount of cash to get on the trains wasn't the problem the problem was how was he supposed to get on them all alone at the age of twelve. Alvin didn't worry about that until he got to it. At school the next day he looked up the trains to the arctic and Churchill, Canada was the end of the line so he goes to the train station and begins a adventure you'll never forget. This book was really good and i recommend it to everyone that likes thrillers that leave you on the edge of your seat when you have to put the book down.