Book Review & Giveaway: My Polar Dream by Jade Hameister

Title: My Polar Dream
Author: Jade Hameister
Publisher: Macmillan Australia
Publication date: 11th September 2018
Pages: 240
RRP: 29.99
Format read: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of publisher

Fourteen-year-old Jade Hameister had a dream: to complete the Polar Hat Trick.

In 2016, she skied to the North Pole.
In 2017, she completed the Greenland Crossing.
In 2018, she arrived at the South Pole.

This is the story of an adventurer who never gave up - who set herself incredible challenges beyond her years and experience. An adventurer who endured extremes of cold and blizzards; tackled treacherous terrain where one wrong step could be fatal; struggled through sastrugi, ice rubble and emotional lows to achieve an extraordinary goal.

Along the way, she made a sandwich for online trolls, inspired young people, and made international headlines.

At sixteen, Jade Hameister became the youngest person in history to complete the Polar Hat Trick.

Jade Hameister is the youngest person to complete the Polar hat-trick – skiing to the North Pole, crossing Greenland coast to coast and skiing from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole.

From an early age, adventure was just a regular part of family life for jade, climbing Mt Kosciuszko at age 6 and climbing to Everest Base Camp with her family at age 12. These trips instilled a sense of adventure in Jade and she had dreams of bigger and better conquests. With the support of her parents her Polar hat-trick dream evolved.

Life wasn’t all winning, as Jade tells how she missed out on School Captain. She didn’t take this as a failure but as a spur to keep striving.

Jade is honest in her account. The training was gruelling and makes you physically fit for the trip but the mental hardships were problems that could only be faced on the trip.

It’s who you become from pushing through the pain and suffering and achieving your goal. Back spasms, blisters on feet, and sunburn made the trek difficult enough but add nose bleeds and light headedness, not many people would push on under these conditions.

“The suffering wasn’t something to avoid, but to relish as an opportunity to reinvent ourselves.”

The story includes facts about the North Pole, Greenland, the South Pole and how we can help to save our planet.

Jade is a tireless advocate of climate change and she is passionate about empowering women.

Jade talks about personal issues, such as toileting with no privacy and in temperatures down to -50°C, with a sense of self mocking fun. The tears, anger and arguments with her father as they lived in close quarters for days on end and how she dealt with the internet trolls are also included.

 “It’s so easy nowadays to get sucked into distractions like our phones and miss what is really going on around us and in our minds. It was a really good opportunity for me to learn something about myself.”

When you’ve achieved such extraordinary goals and see your dreams become reality can ever live an ‘ordinary’ life again? Does the everyday become mundane? Jade admits not having a new adventure to work towards has left her in a lull, but she is ready to move on. She plans on continuing her efforts to empower young women and inspire young people to choose bravery over perfection and to raise awareness of climate change.

My Polar Dream is a truly inspiring and educational story suitable for all ages.

I can’t wait to see what Jade does next!

Jade Hameister began her Polar Hat Trick quest in April 2016 at the age of 14, when she became the youngest person to ski to the North Pole from anywhere outside the last degree and was awarded Australian Geographic Society's Young Adventurer of the Year as a result. In June 2017, she became the youngest woman to complete the 550-kilometre crossing of Greenland, the second largest ice cap on the planet.

In January 2018, Jade skied 600 kilometres from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole unsupported and unassisted, after an epic 37-day journey via a new route through the Transantarctic Mountains and up the Kansas Glacier, from the Amundsen Coast.

In finishing this incredible journey, Jade has set a number of world records including:
* The youngest person to ski from the coast of Antarctica to South Pole unsupported and unassisted
* The first Australian woman in history to ski coast to Pole unsupported and unassisted
* The first woman to set a new route to the South Pole
* The youngest to ski to both Poles
* The youngest to complete the Polar Hat Trick.

Jade lives in Melbourne and is currently a year 11 student.  Her ultimate goal is space.   

Giveaway: (Australia only) 

 

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Book Review: The Night Caller by David Field

Title: The Night Caller (Esther & Jack Enright Mysteries #2)
Author: David Field
Series: Book 2
Publisher: Sapere Books
Publication date: 10th May 2018
Pages: 214
Format Read: EBook
Source: Publisher 

 

Looking for your next fix of Victorian crime? Discover a new series of historical mysteries perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Rory Clements and Antonia Hodgson…

A shadowy presence is haunting London. Can anyone shine a light on the darkness?

London, 1891

The city is still reeling from the brutal Ripper killings and now women are once more being sexually harassed.

Someone is breaking into their homes, stealing their undergarments and leaving threatening messages behind.

With no valuables stolen and no murders committed the police fail to take the women seriously.

But when Esther Jacobs finds herself personally acquainted with one of the victims, she starts to believe something more sinister could be going on. Enlisting the help of her fiancé, police officer Jack Enright, Esther is determined to solve the mystery.

Are women being targeted at random? Is it the work of a deranged sexual deviant?

Or is this a calculated attack on the women of London?

THE NIGHT CALLER is the second crime thriller in an exciting new historical series, the Esther and Jack Enright Mysteries, a traditional British detective series set in Victorian London and packed full of suspense.

I really enjoyed The Gaslight Stalker which was a fictional take on Jack the Ripper and the introduction of our intrepid sleuths Esther Jacobs & Jack Enright. You can read my review here.

The Night Caller is another well written mystery set in 1890’s London. This one isn’t as gory as The Gaslight Stalker with the main focus on an underwear thief mystery.

Esther has befriended Helen Trenchard. Helen is a staunch advocate for women’s equality in the workforce and has founded a union for working women. When working women have their homes invaded, their knickers stolen, and are left threatening notes not to join the union, the local police do not seem to take the case seriously causing Percy Enright to take the investigation into his own hands.

The story is centred round the opening of a women’s union and the brazen attempts to stop women from joining the new workers union. It highlights the working conditions for women, the class system and the poverty of the lower class. Real events are mentioned throughout to place it firmly in its time period.

Esther is determined, self reliant and outspoken. She once again uses her great investigative and analytical skills to help solve the case.

Jack is taken under the wing of his experienced Uncle and learns a thing or two about investigative policing. Sergeant Percy Enright brings humour to the story with some rather funny and politically incorrect sayings.

I am really enjoying this series. They are quick, light reads. The first was a bit gory as it centred on Jack the Ripper however this book was more mystery with plenty of humour and character development. Uncle Percy Enright has a major role and the burgeoning love story between Jack and Esther is continued as they plan their wedding day.

Field has done an excellent job with the essence of time by including real events, appropriate vocabulary and current mindset. I was as much enthralled by the characters in this book as I was by the plot.

Content: No coarse language

                No sex scenes

                Implied sexual assault

My rating 5/5                 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

 

  

 David Field was born in post-war Nottingham, and educated at Nottingham High School.
 
After obtaining a Law degree he became a career-long criminal law practitioner and academic, emigrating in 1989 to Australia, where he still lives.

Combining his two great loves of History and the English language he began writing historical novels as an escape from the realities of life in the criminal law, but did not begin to publish them until close to fulltime retirement, when digital publishing offered a viable alternative to literary agencies, print publishers and rejection slips.

Now blessed with all the time in the world, his former hobby has become a full time occupation as he enjoys life in rural New South Wales with his wife, sons and grandchildren to keep him firmly grounded in the reality of the contemporary world.


 

Book Review: Gazelle in the Shadows by Michelle Peach

Title: Gazelle in the Shadows
Author: Michelle Peach
Publisher: IngramSpark
Publication Date: 20th April 2018
Pages: 327
Format read: paperback
Source: From author via Book Publicity Services 

In the mid 90s, Elizabeth Booth is a young British college student studying Arabic at Durham University. With some travel and work already under her belt, she excels at her studies and is sent to Damascus to immerse herself in the language. Taken aback by the generosity and kindness of the people there, she easy slips into a life in the ancient city. She has friends, her studies, and even a handsome boyfriend. But things aren't always what they seem. Soon, in a world where mistrust and disloyalty are commonplace, Elizabeth finds herself navigating a web of lies, betrayals, and even murder involving MI6, deadly terrorist factions, and the shadowy Syrian secret police.

Gazelle in the Shadows, set in the early 1990’s, depicts life how it was for the people of Syria under the government of the time; a strict regime that ruled through fear.

Peach includes aspects of the political history of the country plus social and religious customs to bring the country and its people alive on the page.

Elizabeth arrives in Syria to complete her University requirement of a year of overseas study. She is the only one from her University to go to Syria however there will be other foreign students at the school she will be attending.

I found Elizabeth to be quite naive and ill prepared for her trip abroad as besides her plane ticket she had not made any other arrangements concerning her stay. She befriends an airline steward who assures her he has friends she can stay with.

The story highlights the disconnected life of a foreigner in a strange country where language is a distinct barrier.

Peach blurs the line between fact and fiction as she includes some events based on her own life experience.

While in Syria Elizabeth meets many welcoming Syrians. She falls in love but also learns that not everyone can be trusted. Her initial trust in everyone puts her in grave danger where she will have to call on every ounce of her courage to save her own life and that of a friend. The thought of losing her life causes Elizabeth to realise how much her family means to her.

Gazelle in the Shadows is a unique coming of age set against the exotic backdrop of Syria.

My rating: 4/5    🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Content: implied sex

                 minimal violence

*I received a review copy from the author via Book Publicity Services.

  

Michelle Peach graduated from Durham University in 1995 with a B.A. in Arabic with Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. During 1992, she spent her second year of college studying abroad at the Arabic Teaching Institute for Foreigners in Damascus. 
Since then, Michelle’s love for Syria has never been far from her thoughts. When the unrest began in 2011, her determination to start writing Gazelle in the Shadows intensified. “I was distraught and appalled by the suffering of the people and by the destruction of its historical sites in Aleppo, Palmyra, Bosra, Homs, Damascus and elsewhere. I know that many will not have the opportunity to see the sights of Syria due to the ongoing conflict, but I hope that through my story readers can enjoy the cities, landscapes and culture of Syria.” Gazelle in the Shadows is set to be released in September 2018, published by IngramSpark.

Michelle lives in Atlanta, GA. She is a stay-at-home mom, married with three children.