The Way Past Winter

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There were some parts that those reading aloud to young children might want to be aware of the boys who are captured are turned into a sort of living zombie, most of them feed the heart tree, but one is frozen in the ice so that the rescue sleigh cannot pass, the description of this boy being killed is quite graphic and though fine for a read aloud to a 16 year old I would have felt uncomfortable reading this to smaller children. The description of the boys being sacrificed for the tree is also quite horrific and might provide vivid nightmares to a younger child. Also when the reason for all this trouble is revealed we were left wondering why this person would cause all this trouble when they were someone who warned about such actions. Perhaps the book would be satisfying for younger children (in the 7-9 range) for whom simple fantasy plotting is more apt, but then the characters are too old and jaded, the opening too sophisticatedly drawn, and the occurence of death and violence too adult, for me to imagine anyone under the age of about twelve would be up for this. This middle grade exudes the very essence of winter. From snowy landscapes, to ice covered forests and dog pulled sleighs, the descriptions are wonderful. You can almost feel the cold, and wrapping up warm in furs along with Mila and her sisters. This relationship is also quite heartwarming in itself. All the siblings, although not perfect, share a special bond. It's well written, as I would expect from Millwood-Hargrave, who seems to have this ability to create intricate and carefully balanced relationships that are complicated yet deeply moving and more importantly, believable. This was a very enjoyable and atmospheric read aloud. An ideal story to read by an open fire, essential to read in winter and preferable to read just at the end of winter when the hope of spring is in sight.

Perpetual winter has haunted Mila's forest for years, leaving her siblings to fight for food and survival. So when a mysterious band of men turn up at their door, talking of treasure, Mila is suspicious. With the disappearance of her brother the next morning, Mila is convinced he has been taken. But can the help of Rune, the Mage outcast be enough to find him? Sadly this atmosphere is not sustained throughout the novel, nor evolved into any other particular feeling. The main character's emotional life, so carefully observed in the at-home section disappears amid the broad strokes of a simplistic plot as soon as the action gets moving. As the book description says, three sisters live with their brother until a stranger turns up. Following the events that happen that night, a journey is undertaken to save a sibling. This eagerly-awaited story by award-winning author Kiran Millwood Hargrave is the perfect winter adventure story, telling of an extraordinary adventure through the frozen north in a quest to reunite families and to break a cycle of endless winter At first we thought this would be too much like Gerda's journey to rescue Kay from the snow Queen, but this storyline had so much going for it. We really enjoyed the fairy tales of the heart tree and how this tree was sacred and their well being depended upon it. We thought this book was going to be a story with an environmental message, it was disappointing that these events happened, the bear was the guardian of the forest, but because too much had been taken from the forest by man and endless winter had been given to the people, the culmination was that rather than promise the bear they would help the environment, the bear was killed. Obviously the bear in this story had become very nasty themselves, but I hoped this would have a more positive message about the bear who was after all the embodiment of the wild, the forest and the environment.Kiran Millwood Hargrave was born in Surrey in 1990, and her earliest ambition was to be a cat, closely followed by a cat-owner or the first woman on Mars. She has achieved only one of these things, but discovered that being a writer lets you imagine whatever you want. However, I just feel that the world building and plot isn't really explored to its full extent here. Folktales and culture are talked about briefly, more as a plot device than anything else, but never really examined or discussed in depth. I wanted to more about the Bear, how he came to be and what his true intentions might have once been before he steps down this dark path of revenge and rage.

Regalo di un Natale passato, questo piccolo libricino si è rivelato il compagno giusto per passare un freddo pomeriggio d’inverno. Essendo pensato per un target giovane, il testo è molto facile da comprendere per pace del mio cervello fuori allenamento, motivo per cui ve lo consiglio anche se non siete molto esperti in inglese. Kiran Millwood Hargrave is a masterful storyteller and this spectacular new tale about siblings, bravery and not losing hope is likely to capture imaginations and whisk readers on a mesmerising pursuit through magical realms. A captivating read to warm hearts on cold, winter days.

We really enjoyed the characters, the storyline and the descriptions. There were some lovely dog characters in this one and some very inventive elements such as the journey to Thule and the breathe-skeins that helped them cross through an underwater current.