“Trusting True North”
by Gina Linko,
Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2022, 364 pages, Grades 4-6.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns created havoc in most people’s lives. All of a sudden, the world was changing. People couldn’t meet in groups; schools closed and church services were held with people spaced 6 feet apart. This leads to isolation and fear for many people.
Early on, the virus doesn’t yet have a name but daily death tallies are shown on television. The government gives contradictory messages to the populace because it is still trying to figure out the virus. What is safe, and what is dangerous? Gina Linko writes a wrenching account of the effect of Covid on a Minnesota family. The name of this touching novel is “Trusting True North.”
True North Vincent is a fifth grader with a vivid imagination and a bit of a temper. Her father is an emergency room nurse and her mother is a map maker. When the pandemic strikes, Mrs. Vincent is in Canada, working on a project. A member of her team gets Covid, which results in Mrs. Vincent’s unit being placed in quarantine.
True’s older sister Rose is a high school student and interested in things other than True. Their rowdy younger brother Georgie has asthma. Their grandmother has recently recovered from cancer and lives with True's family. As the virus spreads, Mr. Vincent must work constantly at the hospital, taking care of Covid patients. This means that he must be isolated from his family. This leaves the children with scant adult guidance.
True, like her mother, makes maps. To keep Georgie occupied, True makes a map of a nearby woodlands. Grandmother forbids the children to go into this area. But Covid has turned True’s world upside down. True wonders what is right and what is wrong. She takes Georgie into the nearby woods and discovers a family of baby kittens in a barn. To the children’s immense surprise, they hear another elementary school student, Kyler, holding the kittens and talking to them.
Kyler is a big, strong boy from an impoverished family. The other children at school pick on Kyler and treat him as an outcast. True can’t believe how tender Kyler is with the kittens, especially the sick kitten named Teacup.
But their grandma has strictly forbidden True from going to the forest or the barn. True and Georgie leave the sick kitten and return home. True tells Georgie not to say anything to their grandmother about the barn, or the kittens. Having disobeyed her grandmother, she then sneaks Georgie back home and lies about where she has been.
The owner of the barn suddenly gets Covid and is taken to the hospital. True knows that taking her asthmatic brother to the barn has potentially exposed him to the virus. Little Teacup dies and True blames herself for the kitten’s death. True calls Kyler and learns he is deathly ill with Covid. She rushes to his apartment and finds him lying on the floor.
True knows she should help Kyler and call 911. She realizes saving Kyler will expose her lies and vulnerabilities to everyone. True then remembers her anguish about not helping Teacup. Digging deep, the overwhelmed 12-year-old True must find courage. What happens?
This is a deeply touching book about the devastating effects of the Covid pandemic. We see True North trying to find her way when there are few guidelines to help her. We witness Kyler’s immense kindness despite the neglect and bullying he endures. In the heart of the story, readers will experience the generous actions of adults during a frightening period. It is a rending story of courage and love. I hope you get a chance to read this excellent novel, “Trusting True North” by Gina Linko.
