About the Book A fictionalized account of the adventures of eighteen-year-old Perce Blackborow, who stowed away for the 1914 Shackleton Antarctic expedition and, after their ship Endurance was crushed by ice, endured many hardships, including the loss of the toes of his left foot to frostbite, during the nearly two-year return journey across sea and ice. Book Synopsis On October 26, 1914, Ernest Shackletons Endurance set sail from Buenos Aires in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize in exploration: the crossing of the Antarctic continent. The crew stood on deck to watch the city fade away. All but one. Eighteen-year-old Perce Blackborow hid below in a locker. But the thrill of stowing away with the legendary explorer would soon turn to fear. Within months, the Endurance, trapped and crushed by ice, sank. And even Perce, the youngest member of the stranded crew, knew there was no hope of rescue. If the men were to survive in the most hostile place on earth, they would have to do it on their own. Victoria McKernan deftly weaves the hard-to-fathom facts of this famous voyage into an epic, edge-of-your-seat survival novel. About the Author Victoria McKernan is the acclaimed author of The Devils Paintbox and Shackletons Stowaway , a historical novel for young adults about the 18-year-old stowaway on Ernest Shackletons 1914 expedition to the South Pole. She has also written four novels for adults. She lives in Washington, DC, with a dog, two cats, and one boa constrictor.