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| Such a pretty cover! |
October 2018, 273 pages, Paperback and Ebook, Review copy
Book summary
A grandfather clock. A glass locket. A powerful curse unleashed on Christmas Eve.
Twelve-year-old
Kitty Wigeon can't wait for Christmas at St Flurries, a grand old manor
house in the countryside, until one chilly night she vanishes without a
trace.
One hundred years later…
Still grieving over the death of
their mother, Kes Bunting and his younger sister Star, are sent to live
at St Flurries. They find a house steeped in mystery and brimming with
secrets. Who, or what, is making footprints in the snow?And what evil
force is taking a cold grip on Star?
Wrap up warm as you join Kes, and a
cast of eccentric snow creatures, in a race against time to solve a
hundred-year-old curse. Will he succeed? Or will the fate of his sister
be decided by a shivery kiss from… the Snow Witch?
Nayu's thoughts
I love classical fairytales, and The Snow Queen is most definitely high on my favourite list. It's about a brother and sister, the brother gets a bit of glass in his heart which removes his humanity, thanks to the Snow Queen, the sister goes on an adventure to save him. Girl power! I really like the drama series which depicted it so well, although off the top of my head I've no idea who produced it. Anyway, The Snow Witch takes the main elements and creates them into something new and utterly charming.
I always hated the Snow Queen, thought she was selfish and mean. Occasionally I felt sorry for her that she found pleasure in other people's unhappiness, which as we know from the movie series Monsters Inc happiness creates more energy than the opposing emotion. Rosie made me love the Snow Witch, who is the equivalent of the original Snow Queen. Hopefully you aren't confused yet. I felt more than sorry for the Snow Witch, it was obvious early on she wasn't too scary and wanted to be freed. Who frees her and how that freedom occurs was truly a poignant moment that had me needing a tissue.
How and why the curse occurs is equally moving. What I like is how well I got to know the Snow Witch: she wasn't always a mystery, I got to know her as a person. I can't say whether this is different to the original because I haven't read it recently so my memories are fuzzy. Sibling stories are always fascinating, and having Kes need to save Star with potentially devastating consequences if he fails made me go 'aww' an awful lot. There's a lot of magic put into the weather, and how the Snow Queen reaches out to the children. I guessed one part of the plot fairly early on, but that didn't spoil anything because I was enchanted by the tale as a whole. It is most definitely on my reread list, full of winter magic which can be read at any time of year, but does have that bit extra spark when read in winter.
Find out more on Rosie's website.
Suggested read
Another great winter themed read is The Storm Leopards by Holly Webb (Children's, 9 years +, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)
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