Review: Nunavik teen adventure story a familiar tale

The Middle of Everywhere, by Montreal teacher and freelance journalist Monique Polak (above) narrates the story of a Montreal teen sent to live in George River for a school term. (IMAGE COURTESY ORCA PRESS)

KANGIQSUJUAQ – The newly-published novel The Middle of Everywhere is a revealing and engaging read – but only if you come from well within the treeline.

Montreal teacher and freelance journalist Monique Polak is the author of 11 teen fiction books. Her latest novel is based in Kangiqsualujjuaq (George River) where Polak takes on the often-penned tale of qallunaaq-meets-the-North.

The story unfolds from the perspective of 15-year-old Noah Thorpe when he moves to George River to spend the school term with his father, a teacher in the community.

City-slicker Thorpe arrives in the cold of January and is thrown head-first into Inuit culture.

“I know George River may not seem like much at first, Noah, but it’s a fascinating place,” his father tells him. “And the people who live here, well, they’re deep. Deeper than a lot of people I know from the city.”

The teen begrudgingly sets out to find out.

In a mere week, Noah’s dog is hit by a truck; he develops a crush on an Inuk classmate and travels by dog sled to a winter camp. There, he rescues an amputated thumb, drinks beer and staves off a polar bear attack.

Never leaving a dull moment, Polak moves fluidly from one Inuit stereotype to the next, treating most with the sensitivity needed to help a southern audience relate to the North.

In this snapshot of northern life, Polak manages to weave in parts of Nunavik’s darker history when the Inuit whom Noah encounters are willing to share their experiences from attending residential school or witnessing the killing of sled dogs in the 1950s and 60s.

Polak, who spent time in the region as part of a 2007 literacy program, makes an obvious effort to nurture awareness of Inuit culture and the struggles its people face.

The reader follows Noah’s feelings of isolation, which set the scene for his exploration and gradually, the feeling of admiration he develops for his new classmates and neighbours.

While Noah’s story is at times contrived, Polak merits some credit for what she’s done – the issues facing Inuit today are complex ones to tackle, let alone for an adolescent readership who may not be able to point out Nunavik on a map.

The Middle of Nowhere may become one tool that could start an important dialogue in Canadian classrooms.

While no fault of Polak’s, her novel also serves as a reminder of how little literature there is available in Nunavik’s classrooms, material written by and for young Inuit.

The Middle of Everywhere
Orca Press
200 pages
$12.95