Summary
The year is 1920 in the Alaskan wilderness. Jack and Mabel recently arrived and built their homestead. But the weight of survival bears down on the couple. Jack continually stresses about the farm while Mabel feels lonely at home. One night, the couple builds a child out of snow. The next morning, the snow child is gone, but they glimpse a small, blonde-haired child running through the woods nearby. She hunts with a red fox, seems to skim on top of the snow when she runs, and she has the ability to survive the harsh Alaskan wilderness in the dead of winter. Jack and Mabel take her in as their own to raise her.
Review
If you’re looking for a quick recommendation, yes, I would definitely recommend this book!
This is one of my favorite books of all time, and I recommend it to just about anyone. Ivey has a wonderful way of making even the harshest of environments appear as if it’s straight out of a fairytale. Of course, the snow child is straight out of a Russian fairytale, called Snegurochka. The tale is short and not very sweet, but Ivey gives it new life. Jack and Mabel end up raising the snow child into an adult. At which point, she leaves their lives and disappears. I realize that kind of gives away a bit of the ending, but given the fairy tale, I think it was bound to happen.
What I loved most about this book was the writing and the story itself. Everything felt so magical, it was difficult to part with it when it came to an end. Not every author has the unique ability to transport me to a completely different world, but Ivey pulled it off. Yes, even the bitter cold Alaskan wilderness seemed appealing while reading this book.
The most magical part about this book was, of course, the snow child. As a child, she is mysterious and difficult to pin down. As an adult, she is beautiful, but she still maintains an air of mystery and intrigue. Although it was mostly focused on the characters and their relationships, I still found myself turning the pages as quickly as I could to find out what would happen next. It was difficult not to read it as quickly as possible because I often thought about reading it when I had other things to do.
This is the perfect book to read during winter! Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to a busy mom. It’s a great read if you’re looking for a book to transport you somewhere else entirely with an air of magic and mystery.
Rating
Five out of five stars
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If you enjoyed my review of The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, you might also like To the Bright Edge of the World, also by Eowyn Ivey. Check out my review!
If you’re interested in purchasing The Snow Child, here are some quick links to buy the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. And, if you’re interested to see what others think, here’s the link to the book on Goodreads.
