SET IN THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN Drum Dance is filled with action adventure paranormal intrigue and danger in Canadas Central Arctic where Sir John Franklin and his crew froze to death searching for the Northwest PassageIn the late 1930s 17yearold David Jansson agrees to spend two years at an isolated furtrading post with his estranged father Per manager for the Hudsons Bay Company Soon regretting his decision to resume a relationship with his dad who is not the loving father he remembershe has become a raging abusive alcoholicDavid foolishly risks his life when he forgets that the Arctic seldom gives a man a second chanceBirchbark canoes are made for rivers and lakes Per said not the icy waters of the Arctic Fall out of this youll freeze before you drown Young AdultForeWord Clarion ReviewYOUNG ADULT FICTIONDrum DanceBonnie TurnerBILLED AS A YOUNGADULT COMINGOFAGE STORY Bonnie Turners novel deals with some pretty mature adult themes Packed with action and adventure and set in the Canadian Arctic in the late 1930s the intriguing plot blends Inuit traditions with the external conflicts between a seventeenyearold Canadian David Jansson and his despotic fortyoneyearold father Per while they simultaneously struggle against their own inner demons And while David finds solace in memories of and visitations from his dead mother his father sinks ever deeper into alcoholic degradationA companion volume to Turners earlier childrens novel Spirit Lights the wellresearched Drum Dance cleverly interweaves just enough Arctic history place names and Inuit language to evoke the culture of the north the traditions of Eskimo storytelling and the hardships of Arctic living especially during 1938 and 1939 For that twoyear span David pledges with his estranged father to leave the Peace River home he shares with his maternal aunt and uncle and to come live with his dad in Gjoa Haven where Per manages the Hudson Bay Company trading post Here the Netsilik stories of explorers Roald Amundsen and Sir John Franklin abound and the festivities of the drum dances for occasions including the arrival of the supply ship relieve the tedium of time and the ravages of weatherAs the two become reacquainted Davids favorable boyhood memories of his dad are shattered as Per fuelled by contraband whiskey and rum becomes increasingly abusive to his son To add to Pers anger David known to the Inuit as Krek White Hair has been willingly seduced by a local girl Nipesha and fallen under the spell of Naigo the resident Shaman Rebelling against his fathers abuse especially when he uncovers a secret about his mothers death and Pers current sexual intimacy with Nipesha David rashly decides to escape Gjoa Haven by canoe But he is forcibly joined by a halfcrazed companion laden with a rifle and troubles of his own Their harrowing adventures both earthly and supernatural make for a gripping read including Kreks neardeath experiences when Supernatural forces swept Davids spirit through a long dark tunnel where cosmic winds howled and distant drums throbbedTurners memorable characters are wellmotivated the plot is wellstructured suspense is welldrawn out and the storys conclusion is believable but fairly predictable There are no typos nor grammar gremlins and the books design cover and map of the region are all of very high quality Turners objective treatment of sensitive issues such as promiscuity and wifeswapping by the Inuit reflects a cultural tradition in a nonjudgmental way But while her overarching chronology