Williwaw!

When 13-year-old September and her younger brother, Ivan, are left alone in their Alaskan cabin, disaster is sure to follow--that much is evident early on, given the steady stream of foreshadowing. Shortly after their father leaves for a two-week fishing trip, September and Ivan break both of his rules. Ivan uses radio batteries to recharge his video game and in doing so manages to fry both his toy and the radio, their only means of communication with the outside world. Fearing they will be sent to their aunt's and uncle's farm if their father finds out, the siblings cross the cove in their tiny boat to get the radio fixed. Repairs take longer than expected, so September and Ivan are forced to make a few more forbidden trips to town as the ""williwaw,"" the same type of fierce storm that killed their mother seven years ago, begins to brew. By an NPR commentator and author of The Free Fall of Webster Cummings, this moralistic tale is focused more on measuring the pitfalls of deception than on providing thrills. How and when the children will be punished for their errors in judgment may provoke more interest than how they will contend with rough water during their final crossing. Meanwhile, readers may grow impatient as they await the inevitable. Ages 10-13. (Mar.)