Socially awkward Sym is a fourteen year old with an unusual obsession. She is fascinated with the Antarctic, to the point of relying on an interior dialogue with Captain Titus Oates (a deceased member of Scott’s Antarctic expedition) to guide her through difficult moments. When Uncle Victor, a family friend, arranges for Sym to accompany him on a trip to the South Pole, she is initially dazzled by the amazing gift of a visit to destination about which she has always dreamed. Although Victor’s manipulations will make readers immediately wary of his intentions, Sym’s naïvete and single-minded interest allow her to disregard these warning signals. Victor’s behavior becomes increasingly peculiar, until even Sym is forced to recognize that his motivations lie beyond the scope of anything she—or the reader—could have imagined. Exceptional writing and careful characterizations combine in creating a creepily bizarre—yet believable—plot, set amidst the isolating landscape of the Antarctic. (Age 14 and older)

“I have been in love with Titus Oates for quite a while now—which is ridiculous, since he’s been dead for ninety years. But look at it this way, in ninety years I’ll be dead, too, and the age difference won’t matter” (1). Thus begins Symone’s narration of her love affair with Captain Oates, member of Robert Scott’s South Pole exploratory team. When Uncle Victor whisks Symone off to Antarctica, she’s thrilled. The group is not as unified in its purposes as Sym assumes, but never does she anticipate the expedition could end the way it does. 2008 YALSA Printz Award, 2007 Booklist Editor’s Choice, 2007 Kirkus Review Editor’s Choice, 2007 NYPL Best Book for the Teenage. lmp

Originally published by Oxford University Press Great Britain, in 2005.

I have been in love with Titus Oates for quite a while now--which is ridiculous, since he's been dead for ninety years. But look at it this way. In ninety years I'll be dead, too, and the age difference won't matter.

Sym is not your average teenage girl. She is obsessed with the Antarctic and the brave, romantic figure of Captain Oates from Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole. In fact, Oates is the secret confidant to whom she spills all her hopes and fears.

But Sym's uncle Victor is even more obsessed--and when he takes her on a dream trip into the bleak Antarctic wilderness, it turns into a nightmarish struggle for survival that will challenge everything she knows and loves.

In her first contemporary young adult novel, Carnegie Medalist and three-time Whitbread Award winner Geraldine McCaughrean delivers a spellbinding journey into the frozen heart of darkness.