Winter Shadows
115. Margaret Buffie, Winter Shadows
I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.
Canadian teen Cass hates her life: her mother died of cancer not long ago, and her dad has already remarried. Her stepmother Jean is an absolute nightmare - she appears determined to banish every reminder of Cass’s mom from the house, and she always seems to blame Cass for everything that goes wrong. In her angry and grieving state, Cass drifts through her life with few friends or interests to cheer her up. Then one day she finds an old brooch and a diary hidden in the walls of her house, and she begins to learn about her ancestor Beatrice. Meanwhile, in the year 1856, Beatrice struggles with her own family problems: she too has a wicked stepmother, and she must also deal with her mixed Scottish and Cree heritage, which sets her apart from the other young women in her community. As Cass and Beatrice lead seemingly parallel lives, they also begin to see each other and even influence each other’s lives. Will each girl find the strength to choose the right path in her life?
This is another book whose premise I liked but whose execution I was less than impressed with. I liked the idea of two young women leading parallel lives in different time periods, so I felt like the story had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, this is one of those books that really suffer for being geared toward a young audience. The chapters generally alternate between Cass and Beatrice, but each chapter is so short that it’s difficult to become absorbed in either girl’s voice or plot. The frequent transitions are jarring, and the plot episodes are generally very choppy. I also thought the “young” focus really harmed the character development. Clearly the reader is supposed to sympathize with the two heroines, but I found Cass completely insufferable. She’s a whiny, bratty teenager who spends all her time selfishly wallowing in grief. Not that the rest of her family is much better, and I certainly didn’t sympathize with the stepmom either, but Cass really rubbed me the wrong way. I feel bad focusing on the negative aspects of the book, and I do think that younger readers might enjoy it. I did like the descriptions of the setting, too - I really got the feeling of an ice-cold Canadian winter. Overall, though, I have to say I was underwhelmed by this book.