Eowyn Ivey
The Snow Child
(Reagan Arthur Books, R197)
Set in the 1920s, middle-aged couple Jack and Mabel have travelled to the unforgiving but breathtaking land of Alaska to escape the claustrophobia of city life and create their own homestead. But the brutal climate and isolated landscape are not what they expected: alone and desperately trying to farm the land to make ends meet, Jack and Mabel are forced to confront the miscarriage they suffered years ago and the dwindling romance in their relationship.
Everything changes when they glimpse a mysterious, blonde girl running through the trees close to their home. Worried for her safety in the freezing weather and confused by her identity, Jack and Mabel let her into their lives and hearts and quickly find in this enchanting girl, Faina, the daughter they always wished they’d had. But things are not as they seem – every year as springs dawns upon Alaska, Faina disappears, returning only with the first snowfall of winter. Can Mabel and Jack find healing through her presence, and who is Faina, where does she come from and why does she fade away with the onset of warmer weather?
Enchanting, heartwarming and easy to read, this absorbing novel and 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist will have you gripped to its last pages.
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