Winter's Child by Cameron Dokey Series: Once Upon A Time
Publisher: Simon Pulse (2009)
Paperback (173 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: Sunlight and Shadow, Wild Orchid
Also in this series: Snow, Water Song, Sunlight and Shadow
Reading Challenges: 2016 Backlist Books, 2016 Re-Reading, 2016 Retelling Challenge, 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016
Synopsis
Free-spirited Grace and serious Kai are the best of friends. They grew up together listening to magical tales spun by Kai's grandmother and sharing in each other's secrets. But when they turn sixteen and Kai declares his love for Grace, everything changes. Grace yearns for freedom and slowly begins to push Kai - and their friendship - away.
Dejected Kai dreams of a dazzling Snow Queen, who entices him to leave home and wander to faraway lands. When Grace discovers Kai is gone, she learns how much she has lost and sets out on a mystical journey to find Kai...and discover herself.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon
My Review
I first read this book quite awhile ago. I didn’t remember too much of it but I remembered that I liked it, so when it caught my eye at the library, I checked it out. Winter’s Child is a retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale The Snow Queen.
Grace and Kai have grown up together. Grace’s grandmother told the two of them the story of the Winter Child many times growing up. Grace called it a fairy tale. Kai believed the whole story. He asked questions, trying to understand the tale better.
Then the worst happens. Grace’s grandmother and Kai’s mother both die of diphtheria. Grace and Kai are left alone. They are both a little lost and so Kai asks Grace to marry him. Needless to say, Grace does not take to this very well. She is much to adventurous to settle down at sixteen.
It is that night that Kai goes off with the Winter Child, the Snow Queen, without saying goodbye to Grace. Grace is beside herself with worry. She feels it is up to her to save Kai from the path he has chosen and so she sets off after him. Her only driving force is her love for Kai.
The story is rather similar to the original story. I enjoyed this reread but it wasn’t as good as I had remembered it being. Maybe that is because the ending is way too convenient of an ending and that characters seem rather flat.
Oh, man, I hate it when books you remember fondly don’t quite meet your expectations when you do a reread. Perhaps these books are best left as a fond memory. I don’t think there’s any rule that says we must feel the same way about a book because even though it may not have changed, we as people are always changing. Nice review!
Thank you! I hope you have a great rest of the week, Alicia.