In this fast-paced adventure story set in the Canadian arctic, fifteen-year-old Inuit hunter Nick Thrasher comes face-to-face with a fearsome creature on a routine caribou hunt gone wrong. Part grizzly, part polar bear, this environmental mutant has been pegged the “grolar bear” by wildlife experts. Nick may have escaped this time, but it won’t be his last encounter.
Then Nick’s estranged half-brother, Ryan, offers to take him on a rafting trip down a remote part of the Firth River. But when disaster strikes, the two narrowly evade death. They’re left stranded without supplies—and then the grolar bear appears. Will Hobbs brings his singular style to this suspenseful story about two brothers fighting for survival against the unpredictable—and sometimes deadly—whims of nature.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Never Say Die - Will Hobbs
By Mystccwby
Will Hobbs Never Say Die, is an excellent if fairly short read. Though this is the first time I have read Mr.Hobbs work it will not be the last, the story was well written and informative as well.We start out with young Nick Thrasher part white and part Intuit, though Nick does all he can to forget his white heritage until the day he receives a letter from his half brother in Arizona known about but never have met.Nick learns Ryan is a photographer wanting to travel down the Firth and see if they can see any large herds of Caribou as they migrate. Nick thinks the whole idea is crazy and there are no great herds any more. Jonah, Nicks grandfather and world thinks it would be a good idea for Nick to go, to learn of his brother and to see the great herd if it is there, the ones Jonah remembers from his younger days. So Nick agrees and starts off on an adventure full of learning and danger. Nick recently has had a brush with some kind of bear he learns they are calling a grolar bear, part Grizzly part polar bear.As Ryan and Nick learn of one another and about one another as Ryan is from the believe of prove it with science and Nick's believe coming from living off the land and learning to live with the land. The two have much to share and learn as they embark on an adventure of a life time.This story was great from middle school boys or anyone that enjoys a great outdoor story. It is a mixture of fact and fiction one of learning to survive and learning that man has brought havoc to the world around him and nature has her own way of turning the tide. The hybrid bear in this story is real as is the changing weather in the arctic all caused by climate change.The Inuit People live on and with the land daily and can tell you first hand of the changes that have come to their home country.Take time to read and enjoy the story but hopefully you will think of the things going on in the world around us as well.I look forward to reading more from Will Hobbs in the future.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Outdoor Adventure and Environmentalism
By J. Grambo
Nick Thrasher lives in Canada's Northwest Territories above the Arctic Circle. Although he is only half Inuit (Eskimo), he has lived with them his whole life, and is skilled in hunting and fishing, and has all the survival skills that are needed for living in the Arctic. When his half-brother Ryan, a famous wildlife photographer, comes to visit from Arizona, the two take a rafting trip up the Firth River to look for herds of caribou.The author has a talent for writing thrilling outdoor adventures, and this is no exception. An overturned raft, dangerous encounters with bears, and a violent super-storm are balanced with a peaceful rest near a wolf, and a breathtaking walk through a herd of thousands of caribou. The most dramatic danger came from a "grolar bear," a mixed-breed grizzly and polar bear, who was larger, fiercer, meaner, and more violent than any bear Nick had ever encountered before. The scene where the grolar bear was eating two campers, and the boys saw him with a human arm in its jaws, was frightening, but not too bad until the grolar plunged into the river and started to chase their raft.From the beginning of the story, environmental messages were emphasized, including the dangers of global warming and oil drilling in the Arctic. Towards the end, the environmental messages became rather heavy-handed. This flood was because of global warming, and that flood was because of global warming, and fewer caribou in this area was because of global warming, and this storm was because of global warming, and the change in timing of ice on the river is because of global warming, and the paths that the caribou traveled and the places where they spend the winter are changing because of global warming, and even the grolar bear was born because of global warming. It was distracting. I wanted to say, "I understand, can we just get on with the story?"Will be enjoyed by 8- to 12-year-olds who enjoy outdoor adventures.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.... Will Hobbs is a very satisfying book that is recommended to many people to read
By Dalton Gradert
The book Never Say Die by Will Hobbs is a very satisfying book that is recommended to many people to read. The conflict is one of the best parts of this book. The raft gets tipped and Nick (the main character) and Ryan (Nicks half brother) get flipped off into the freezing river and all their stuff they have to keep them alive is on the raft. When this happens it creates many problems and this make people want to keep reading because they don't know what's going to happen next! This book takes place outside in the wilderness the whole book. When they are in the wilderness there are many problems such as bear attacks and Nick and Ryan getting split up. This makes the story very interesting to read. There is also gore in the book. There are times when Nick and Ryan have problems with things that can get kind of scary and a little bit gory. Like when Ryan gets mauled by a bear and almost dies. The people who would really enjoy this book, are boys or girl over the age 10 and under the age of 16. This book is recommended to these ages because its not an adult book, but its an excellent read for teens or soon to be teens. Never Say Die is an excellent book for young’uns in need of an incredible book!
