Emperors of the Ice by Richard Farr is a story within a story of the ill-fated Robert F. Scott expedition to the South Pole 1910-1912. It tells of gathering penguin eggs and other adventures in the face of gale force winds and extremely cold temperatures. The bounds of human endurance seem incredible. The fictionalized slant to very real accounts made for an authentic convincing read. Those early explorers were tough. It is told from the point of view of Apsley Cherry-Garrard. He was a wealthy Oxford graduate who showed real optimism in the face of adversity and seemed willing to take on any challenge. Inwardly, however, he was conflicted.

After the ordeal, Cherry (his nickname) wrote a memoir entitled, The Worst Journey in the World which may be downloaded at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14363 .

Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg is about a popular, talented senior high school quarterback in Southern California. Bobby realizes that he is gay and comes out of the closet sooner than he intends. Bobby’s story is about being honest with yourself – It is about breaking barriers. As Finch, a high school reporter who covertly records and publishes an interview in which the quarterback admits to being gay later says:”Bobby, everyone likes you. You think being gay will stop people …” Bobby gets the better of Finch in fine style. More than that, the story is about the reactions by everyone in Bobby's social sphere including his parents. I liked near the end when a news reporter asked Bobby how it felt to be an openly gay quarterback leading his team to the championship."I don't know, [Bobby replied] kinda like being an openly straight quarterback but with more media attention on me..."