One woman's trek across Arctic ice ...
Kiti is seventeen when her mother Pichikut dies giving birth to a sixth son and leaves her only daughter Sukitilan responsible for the infant's safety. By placing the motherless baby outdoors to die, the shaman father consigns his only daughter to first rescuing and then transporting him northeast to the frozen islands of Pichikut's people.
Life for no one in the family can ever be the same. The terrified young woman churns with grief at loss of her parent, with resentment over duty thrust upon her, and with uncertainty about her own ability. Nevertheless, she selects the best dogs of the family, then sets out secretly on a black and lonely winter trek with her tiny new brother, the nurturing dog Nuna, a small sled and a strong dog team.
On the trail, she finds fierce animals, predatory people, friendship . . . and perhaps love as she learns to accept defeat and triumph with equal dignity and growing confidence.
In this quest adventure painted on a palette authentic in culture and environment, we enter the traditional world of the Inupiat and the little-known High Arctic filled with anger, darkness, stark beauty---and harsh demands which permit no second chance.
Praise for "KITI: "
"Using characters that walk off the page . . . Manning weaves readers into the icy fabric of the Arctic."
-Chicki Mallan, Travel Writer and Author of Moon Handbooks: "Yucatan Peninsula, Belize, " and "Colonial Cites"