Mini Book Reviews: Snow Child, Elatsoe...

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Published: February 1st, 2012 by Reagan Arthur Books

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Format: Ebook, 404 Pages, Kindle

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed the journey. It was a long read for me but beautifully executed. I felt cold and yet cozy the whole time reading it. The journey is also a long one for Jack and Mabel. They have so much grief and pain and it takes a long time for them to find their way. Eowyn Ivey describes a cold, haunting, unforgiving terrain but one that welcomes those who wish to learn its ways. It's been my favorite winter read so far. Highly recommended!

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Published: August 25th, 2020 by Levine Querido

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy, LGBTQIA

Format: Hardcover, 360 Pages, Library

Rating: 4.5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

My Thoughts:

I was absolutely blown away by the creative imagination of Darcie Little Badger. I hope there are books with Elatsoe, her family and friends, and all her beloved otherworldly pets. I enjoyed the world-building where fae realms and Indigenous realms, and magic of all sorts exist together. How do you navigate a world like that? Elatsoe is also an asexual character so no romantic entanglements here. I loved seeing Elatsoe come to terms with her grief and ultimately the grief of her people. There's a lot of action and magic, and revenge too. So come for all of it in this one. I look forward to more from Darcie Little Badger.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Published: February 18th, 2020 by Berkley

Genre: Crime Thriller, Horror

Format: Hardcover, 327 Pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn't right at the Sun Down, and before long she's determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

My Thoughts:

This engaging mystery combines the past and present along with some good old ghosts thrown in. I enjoyed watching Carly investigate her Aunt Viv's disappearance in a creepy small town in Upstate New York. Guess who else is investigating the murders of other women 35 years ago in the same town at the same motel? Aunt Viv. It all comes to a head towards the end with a very satisfying finish. I did feel like some of the plot was a bit too neat and tidy and sometimes a bit unbelievable ( I mean aside from the ghosts everyone can see). But overall, it's engaging and creepy.