Arctic Thunder

Runner Up: Golden Eagle Children's Choice Book Award

Shortlisted: 2012 Manitoba Young Readers Choice Awards

Mike Watson's team has just won the Alberta Bantam Provincial box lacrosse championships. The euphoria of victory and plans for next season are short-lived when Mike's father, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is transferred to Inuvik, Northwest Territories.

The transition to life inside the Arctic Circle is a tough one for Mike, who is now fourteen. With temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius, a hulking monster named Joseph Kiktorak threatening him at every turn, and not a lacrosse ball in sight, Mike's resentment at moving north escalates.

As his friendships with local youth develop, Mike is introduced to the amazing spectacle and athleticism of traditional "Arctic Sports." When his father witnesses the natural talent of Mike's new friends, the idea of an Inuvik lacrosse team is born! With hearts full of desire, the motley group of athletes heads south to Alberta to participate in the Baggataway Lacrosse Tournament, and to face Mike's former team, the St. Albert Rams.