Here's a new review that I'm particularly proud of. The author, Jerry A. Lewis, is a lifelong outdoorsman, hunter and guide. He's also a particularly gifted outdoor writer, author of Silent Crossings–a book that is more than worth the hunt!
I recently finished Jonathan Stratman's book "Cheechako". Although Stratman says the book is targeted toward young people, the story is one that every reader that has passed that younger period of life can easily associate with. It is a "coming-of-age" story with ingredients in it most of us dealt with in our youth.
It's a book about Alaska. And no writer who attempts to take on the enormity of Alaska can do so without taking on winter. Alaska is many things, but above all, Alaska is about winter. You can read about winter most anywhere but if you want to flip the last page of a book and feel like you really know what blizzards, deep snow and real cold are like just pick up "Cheechako," wrap a blanket around yourself and start reading. The author nailed it.
And "Cheechako" isn't just about winter. It's about good people, good dogs, the mixing of human races, bullies and remote Alaska villages. There are a few nuances in the pages that I haven't read elsewhere, which helps attract the reader to the mysterious side of the author, and makes one push on to get to the end of the book. I liked "Cheechako". It is a bargain.
Jerry A Lewis
Corvallis, Montana
2013
