The Call of the Wild by Jack London

 The Call of the Wild by Jack London-120 pages

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Buck is a domesticated pet for a local judge in Alaska. He's a big dog (a mix between a St. Bernard and a Scotch shepherd) and weighs 150 lbs. One day, the gardener for the judge kidnaps him and sells him to Perrault and Charles, who are not kind. They own many sled dogs, mostly Huskies, and most of the dogs are also not kind. Buck learns to be tough and mean. He is then sold to mail carriers who are less mean, but still using the dogs as a means to an end. Finally, he's sold to Hal, Charles, and Mercedes. Hal and Charles know nothing about sleds or sled dogs, but want to travel to Dawson. Finally, Buck meets John Thornton who saves him from certain death by continuing on with Hal, Charles, and Mercedes. It's clear that John cares for Buck and Buck grows to care for John. How long will this relationship last? Will Buck stick around or will he heed the call of the wild? 

For such a short book, a lot happens in these pages. Buck goes through several different owners and has quite the adventure. Overall, the book is pretty good. It has the language from the first publishing in 1903 and some of it is outdated to be kind. There's a decent amount of violence, especially for a juvenile fiction book. 

Winter's End by Paige Shelton

 Winter's End by Paige Shelton-263 pages

4th in the Alaskan Wild series.  Beth is in hiding from her abductor.  There are a few people in Benedict, Alaska who knows who she really is.  Besides being a famous author she is also an amateur sleuth.  The townspeople are conducting the death walk which occurs when winter is over just to make sure that all have survived.  When several people have gone missing they so not know if their disappearances are connected.  There are alot of plot twists that keeps you guessing.  I enjoy this series very much.  Beth is also originally from Missouri, which is another reason why I like the series.

Gold by Chris Cleave

Gold by Chris Cleave - 324 Pages

" Cyclists Zoe and Kate are friends and athletic rivals for Olympic gold, while Kate and her husband Jack, also a world-class cyclist, must contend with the recurrence of their young daughter's leukemia."

Bo at Ballard Creek by Fitzpatrick Hill

Bo at Ballard Creek by Fitzpatrick Hill - 279 pages

Bo has an unusual family life.  She is the adopted daughter of two former coal miners that work as a blacksmith and cook in an Eskimo village in Alaska in 1930.  This book tells the story of about one year when they live in Ballard Creek.
I'm glad I picked up this book.  It's been on my list for a while to read.  It's a sweet story of a young girl.  She's very much loved by both of her "papas" and the whole town.  The story has kind of a timeless quality to it like the Little House on the Prairie books.  It's a little difficult to tell exactly when it is set.  I finally figured it out from one throwaway sentence about a calendar that came in the mail.

The Main Corpse by Diane Mott Davidson

The Main Corpse by Diane Mott Davidson, 337 pages

In book 6 of the series, Goldy is once again in the middle of a murder mystery. For a caterer, she certainly knows a lot of murder victims!

This is the first of the series that I felt droned on a bit too long - getting far too wrapped up in explaining financing and mine operations. I found myself skipping pages to get through the book, which is a shame because I enjoyed the other books so much.