When I was young, I thought I lived a normal childhood. It was only as I grew older and life became tougher and tougher, did I realize my childhood was much harder than most.
As an orphan, life could be tough, but I always looked towards the things I had in life, rather than looking at the things I didnât have.
And I was content with that mindset and lifestyle.
Until I met Buddy.
At first, the sight of a wolf staring at me scared me like it would any other child. But, almost instantly, I got a different sense from this wolf, a sense of security and trust I had never had before with any animal, or human for that matter.
Once Buddy started bringing me things, things that held the keys to my life before I went to the orphanage such as my adoption papers, I realized this was no ordinary wolf.
Now I find myself embarking on a journey to find my birth parents and reconnect, with my trusty partner by my side.
Will we make it to meet my parents? What dark secrets will I uncover along the way?
Only time will tellâŚ
When I was young, I thought I lived a normal childhood. It was only as I grew older and life became tougher and tougher, did I realize my childhood was much harder than most.
As an orphan, life could be tough, but I always looked towards the things I had in life, rather than looking at the things I didnât have.
And I was content with that mindset and lifestyle.
Until I met Buddy.
At first, the sight of a wolf staring at me scared me like it would any other child. But, almost instantly, I got a different sense from this wolf, a sense of security and trust I had never had before with any animal, or human for that matter.
Once Buddy started bringing me things, things that held the keys to my life before I went to the orphanage such as my adoption papers, I realized this was no ordinary wolf.
Now I find myself embarking on a journey to find my birth parents and reconnect, with my trusty partner by my side.
Will we make it to meet my parents? What dark secrets will I uncover along the way?
Only time will tellâŚ
It was rainy and cold like always. I peered off into the
distance, and there I could see large snow clouds
coming towards me. I put my arms deeper into my
sleeves and crossed them. I shivered as the winds pushing the
clouds closer to me started to pick up. It was late November,
and winter was coming in a hurry. âGreat,â I whispered to
myself.
Winter was the worst part of the year for kids like me. I lived
in an orphanage with about 50 other boys. Every day was the
same for us in the orphanage. We would wake up and make
our beds neatly to make sure the caregivers didnât get angry
with us. They were not really caregivers to begin with. They
were mean and strict. If any one of us boys stepped out of
line, or even laughed at the wrong time, outside in the cold
we went.
After we were done making our beds, weâd eat a small breakfast
and then go to school. School was never fun, especially
with Mrs. Marley teaching. She was a cruel teacher who had
warts all over her face. She was tall and gangly and smelled of
burnt coffee. Her teeth were crooked, and her eyes somehow
always followed me around the classroom. She was the one
who locked me outside when I didnât finish my schoolwork
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on time.
I did not like to do my schoolwork. It was so boring, and
we never got to do anything fun afterwards, so it didnât even
seem like it was worth it.
After school weâd go outside and shovel snow in the parking
lot so that the workers could drive home. Then, if it wasnât
snowing, we would help to carry firewood to all the surrounding
people. That was never enjoyable either. If Mrs.
Marley saw us slacking off, we would get punished outside,
or she would make us skip dinner and go straight to bed.
Normally, after work we would eat dinner, and then do it all
again the next day. I always envied the kids that I saw playing
outside with their siblings. They would do fun things like
have snowball fights and build snowmen. We were not allowed
to play in the snow while living in the orphanage.
Sometimes, boys in the orphanage were lucky. Theyâd get
adopted by a family and would no longer have to live there
anymore. I was never lucky. The only kids that ever got adopted
were the younger ones. I was 13, so no one wanted me. I
was too old to start a new life with a new family.
My parents put me up for adoption when I was just a baby. I
donât know anything about them or why they put me up for
adoption. I only know what they look like because I have a
picture of them that they gave to me when I was a baby. My
mom had beautiful dark black hair and black eyes. My dad
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had dark hair as well, but he had green eyes, which he gave
to me.
Because I was the oldest at the orphanage, whenever anything
bad happened, or whenever we did not get everything
done on time, I was always blamed for it.
Mrs. Marley would scream my name above all the other
people talking and start walking toward me. With her long,
crooked finger, sheâd point at me, saying the same thing every
time: âJessie, when will you start behaving like a grown man?â
Then sheâd take me by my ear and drag me outside to sleep
on the back porch. Thatâs how I ended up locked outside in
the cold that night in late November. While we were cleaning
up the kitchen after dinner, some kid named Owen knocked
over an entire pot of tomato soup. It made a large banging
sound, and right after that, I could hear footsteps coming toward
me.
I shivered again as the wind started to blow even harder. In
Fairbanks, Alaska, where we were, it was always cold, and it
snowed most days of the year. Every time it snowed, it was
windyâthe kind of wind that would pierce your skin as you
stood in it.
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I walked over to the shed where they kept the old garden
tools for summertime. The shed had no door, and it felt more
like a doghouse than anything. There was one old pillow that
had been there for years, and one dirty blanket that was just
enough to keep you from freezing in the middle of the night.
I never slept well when I had to stay in the shed. I would
clench the blanket as tight as I could, hoping that the winds
would stop blowing snow into the shed.
I tried to lie down, fluffing the pillow a bit in an effort to
make it more comfortable. That didnât work, but the pillow
was still better than nothing. I pulled the cold blanket over
my shoulders and squeezed my eyes shut as hard as I could.
I prayed that the snow would stop, but like always, it continued.
I am always seeking new titles for my 11-year old son, and I found the premise of Spirit Guide: Mysterious adventure to a new home by Mavis Sybil interesting. A 50-page book that is part fable, part adventure, this is a tale young readers will enjoy. Set in the pristine landscape of the Arctic region, it describes the terrain and the threats of the snowy vastness. A teenage orphan embarks on a terrifying journey in this white world with his newfound friend, Buddy.
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The narration is fast-paced but builds on the characters. It evokes empathy and has you rooting for the protagonist. As suited for young readers, it does not dwell much on the sad parts but creates an ambiance of suspense. The story highlights the troubling reality of older children in orphanages. I think middle school children must learn about these challenges. Stories like these gently bring forth these tribulations to young readers.Â
In the second half, the story paces up. As an adult reader, it left me with a few questions. However, this should not impede young readers who can enjoy this fascinating story of the travails of Jessie and Buddy. Since children learn by reading, I would have preferred tighter editing. What is lacking in a few linguistic aspects is covered in the descriptions that can spark young imagination.Â
I see potential in the adventures of Jessie and Buddy becoming a serialized work. Illustrations could have added another layer. This book is an exciting way to learn about the challenging lives of the people in the Arctic. I would love to read more. The Spirit Guide is engaging; the twist at the end can give wings to children's imagination. We need more stories like this in the middle-grade reading category.