This book is sort of a girls' version of Gary Paulsen's classic Hatchet. In both stories, a teenage character is stranded in the wilderness following a plane crash. In I Am the Ice Worm, 14-year-old Allison is rescued from the Alaskan wild by an Inupiat trapper, who takes her to his village to stay until she can be reunited with her mother. Allison's upbringing in an upper-class family in southern California certainly didn't prepare her for this icy adventure, but she turns out to have courage and adaptability that she didn't expect. Though Allison may initially seem too "girly" for boy readers, this novel has a great blend of adventure, wilderness and family matters that will captivate boys and girls alike.127 pages.