Alaskan Village life is a life of choices. Each day, the residents make choices that will change the lives of everyone around them, some for the good, some not so much. When a boy on the edge of becoming a young man must leave his village to attend school, his world will change so much that in a few short months, he will not remember the child he was. Two young peopel scheduled to graduate from this village school, must decide on a future. Will they stay with the familiar or venture further from home where their choices can match their dreams.

I had issues with downloading this book which is a shame as I really wanted to read this book as it seemed very enticing and the description drew me into the story but unfortunately due to technical difficulty I wasn't able to read this book as it just wouldn't send through to my kindle.

I DNF'd this about 30 percent of the way through. It was boring and the characters didn't really have personalities.

As an avid reader about Alaska, I had high hopes for this book. However interesting the premise, I felt like I never really got to know the characters well, and was disappointed in the choices that they made. The cultural and generational pressure to stay in their small town forever is a huge burden on teens' lives and many don't take the risk. Sticking with what's known and familiar isn't always the path to a satisfying life.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Growing up on an very small Alaskan island a 7th grader is forced to move to a small town for school. Then two from the high school talk about growing up in the small town as well and dreams of "outside" in larger Alaskan cities. A story of the struggle to grow up but also the struggle of culture and lifestyle choices as the "old" ways no longer support life and the internal conflict this creates. Kind of a slow story for teens, I think it will actually be appreciated more by adults.

Caught Between Worlds is a coming of age story that explores how this transition is made much more complex by identity, cultural conflict, socio-economic status, and family/community relationships. It is set in rural Alaska, which is an interesting setting to delve into these questions and struggles. While these are universal experiences, they are positioned in a place that is very far removed from anything within my own experiences.

The book follows three young characters. Two are about to graduate high school and must consider their options after graduation, and the third is a younger boy who has left his village and family behind to continue his education after the village school is closed. All three characters are dealing with similar problems as they straddle different cultures and try to figure out exactly what their own identities are. With pressures from their family and community this process is made much more complicated.

The idea behind this novel is intriguing, however it felt very dry to read. The book rarely provoked any emotional reactions for me, and it felt difficult to connect to the characters. This is mostly due to the third person narration that never really goes beyond exposition. I felt like I was waiting the whole book for the book to really get started.

What kept me reading though, were the beautiful (and what seemed authentic) depictions of life in this remote region. The simple prose captured how living in this area is sometimes brutal, and sometimes inspiring. This book is an interesting read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this region of Alaska or who enjoys reading a narrative that is more of a character study.

For me, there was too many pov’s for me to really enjoy it. I felt as if as soon as I got connected to one character another was telling the story and I did not like that. On top of there being multiple pov’s, the narration was third person. Overall, the story line was okay but I felt like I didn’t have that connection with the characters that makes a book a great book.