Felicia Mihali has carefully crafted the remote, far North setting of Iqaluit. The bleakness, the barren nature and the cold permeate the book.

Irina moves to the North on a nine month teaching contract. She moves to escape her past and seek her own solitude. As she settles into life and winter in the North, you can feel the isolation she feels and you get a sense of the awkwardness she feels as an outsider.

The history of the Arctic, including the traditional ways of surviving the harsh environment and the unsuccessful exploration attempts of the British are weaved throughout the story. I've always found the Arctic fascinating but know woefully little, so I found the historic insights fascinating.

There's great character development and I found myself swinging between liking and not liking Irina. But no matter how I felt about Irina, her story had me hooked. I needed to learn about the past she was trying to escape and find out what was going to happen.

The book is moody and often bleak. It gives a great look into life in the North, especially for those living there as outsiders.