The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Is she magical or is she real? It was this uncertainty that created a yearning, the hunger to drive deeper into the story of Mabel and Jack as they create a life out on the barren landscape of the Alaskan wilderness. After creating a snow child one evening out of the new fallen snow, the next morning, Jack notices a small girl disappearing into the forest. Their snow girl lays dismantled, her mittens and scarf gone. It isn’t long before Mabel herself, sees the girl wearing the familiar mittens and scarf, her presence a welcome sight to the couple who have started to give up hope for their life is harder than they imagined. This new bond which is being shaped has its benefits and its limitations, for they are now treading in unfamiliar territory. It’s the magical aspect of the Snow Child that runs through the book that charmed me. Their feelings towards the child are different as Mabel connects the Snow Child to a book she read as a child yet Jack knows something more about the child that he’s not sharing with Mabel. There is also the mystery of her past which I pondered as I continued to read. Calming, intriguing and moving, the author words pulled me forward to a world I would never experience. I would have given this book five stars, as the author paints a through picture but there were times I thought there was no room for my own imagination to visualize the scene as the author’s words took over. The ending seemed rushed compared to the rest of the book. I appreciate the author adding closure but I feel she could have done it better.
