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culpeppper's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was a truly unique book for me. I loved getting to know the setting, the family dynamics, and the community relationships in the beginning as dread slowly seeped in with the cold. I think a lot of authors don't use weather as a storytelling tool enough, and this story confirmed that I really appreciate when it's a core part of the story. I appreciated the main perspective of Evan, a devoted father, loving partner, and loyal community member who still had flaws and a personality beyond his relationships. The antagonist, or at least the physical embodiment of it, was foreboding from the moment it is introduced, and threats to the community as the cold presses in feel real; the stakes and tension rise slowly but the story doesn't drag. Instead, it drops in on important conversations and focuses on narrating plot or character moments for us rather than having us slog through every day on the rez.
While I don't mind Rice's telling and not showing for instances where we’re getting caught up to speed on certain things, sometimes the writing does feel more like it's telling us what the character is feeling rather than showing us what they're doing and having us decide what the character might be feeling. This wasn't so apparent if sentences were longer, but in the bits between dialogue we’re often told how characters react and what emotion that reaction comes from. Another gripe is the kids are basically pieces of furniture with names but I'm more surprised when I find a novel that does kids well. In general, there were a few characters and plot elements that could have been built more— at times, it felt hollow or, in the case of certain characters, unfinished. So if you're looking for a tight, no questions left unanswered this is not that kinda story. Me, I don't mind it enough to care too much.
There were a lot of beautiful moments interspersed between the hard and traumatic ones. The balance is maintained well, and it offers hope to readers when needed. While the pain characters felt was always there, it never felt overly traumatic or too much.
Overall, I really did enjoy reading this and got through it quick, and it was a really interesting premise and execution of this genre of story. I'm looking forward to becoming more familiar with Rice's other work!
While I don't mind Rice's telling and not showing for instances where we’re getting caught up to speed on certain things, sometimes the writing does feel more like it's telling us what the character is feeling rather than showing us what they're doing and having us decide what the character might be feeling. This wasn't so apparent if sentences were longer, but in the bits between dialogue we’re often told how characters react and what emotion that reaction comes from. Another gripe is the kids are basically pieces of furniture with names but I'm more surprised when I find a novel that does kids well. In general, there were a few characters and plot elements that could have been built more— at times, it felt hollow or, in the case of certain characters, unfinished. So if you're looking for a tight, no questions left unanswered this is not that kinda story. Me, I don't mind it enough to care too much.
There were a lot of beautiful moments interspersed between the hard and traumatic ones. The balance is maintained well, and it offers hope to readers when needed. While the pain characters felt was always there, it never felt overly traumatic or too much.
Overall, I really did enjoy reading this and got through it quick, and it was a really interesting premise and execution of this genre of story. I'm looking forward to becoming more familiar with Rice's other work!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, Cursing, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Racism, Murder, Abandonment, Blood, Colonisation, and Gun violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Addiction, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Other: guns (not specifically always in gun violence way), smoking cigarettes/tobacco, fatally freezing conditions, animal hunting/butchering, institutional racism, starvation, threats of violence, poverty, corpses, intergenerational trauma, suffocation descriptions. Many of the triggers are embedded in the structure of the character's world, or appear in dream sequences. Death of Parent:talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Gore, Body horror, Drug use, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism
Minor: Child death, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Sexual content, and War
bookdragon217's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"The world isn't ending. Our world isn't ending. It already ended. It ended when the Zhaagnash came into our original home down south on that bay and took it from us. That was our world".
I read Moon of the Crusted Snow with @wellreadnative book club. It's a dystopian tale about what happens in a small Anishinaabe community awaiting a blizzard when all power has failed. Communication is cut off and unwanted visitors mysteriously appear.
I absolutely loved this one. The writing was solid and the tension begins right from the beginning. We are introduced to rich characters with varying relationships with the ancestor's core beliefs and traditions. Colonial history is cleverly woven throughout the story. The author does a great job of laying out the scenes without giving too much away and there were times that I was literally holding my breath because the tension was so thick. Everything unfolds through Evan's POV, who cares for his community and is reclaiming his identity and ties to the traditions of his ancestors.
What was really clever was how the author was able to write a dystopian tale centered on colonialism. In essence, he is reminding us that what happened to Indigenous people is real life horror that is inescapable. The antagonist, Scott embodies white settler mentality. From the moment he enters the scene, he tries to exert dominance, shows dissonance for their ways, tries to tear down their traditions and uses force and manipulation to try to pit them against each other. Even as their world is literally falling apart with no end in sight his white supremacy is on display and working in the background.
But this was also a survivor story. The author highlights the history of strength and unity within the Anishinaabe people, their ability to survive challenges time and time again and their undying love of community and their traditional ways. It was beautiful to see how everyone has a part to play in the community and how being of collective thinking is key to surviving tragedy.
There were moments that were reminiscent of the early pandemic. It left me reflecting on the importance of always being prepared, being adaptive and supportive of your community. It reminded me of how embedded colonialism is into everyday society and how white supremacy exerts its' strong arm as it sees fit and has conditioned some people to believe that force is the only option to survive. Even in moments when all humanity is at risk, the colonialism mentality rears its' ugly head.
I read Moon of the Crusted Snow with @wellreadnative book club. It's a dystopian tale about what happens in a small Anishinaabe community awaiting a blizzard when all power has failed. Communication is cut off and unwanted visitors mysteriously appear.
I absolutely loved this one. The writing was solid and the tension begins right from the beginning. We are introduced to rich characters with varying relationships with the ancestor's core beliefs and traditions. Colonial history is cleverly woven throughout the story. The author does a great job of laying out the scenes without giving too much away and there were times that I was literally holding my breath because the tension was so thick. Everything unfolds through Evan's POV, who cares for his community and is reclaiming his identity and ties to the traditions of his ancestors.
What was really clever was how the author was able to write a dystopian tale centered on colonialism. In essence, he is reminding us that what happened to Indigenous people is real life horror that is inescapable. The antagonist, Scott embodies white settler mentality. From the moment he enters the scene, he tries to exert dominance, shows dissonance for their ways, tries to tear down their traditions and uses force and manipulation to try to pit them against each other. Even as their world is literally falling apart with no end in sight his white supremacy is on display and working in the background.
But this was also a survivor story. The author highlights the history of strength and unity within the Anishinaabe people, their ability to survive challenges time and time again and their undying love of community and their traditional ways. It was beautiful to see how everyone has a part to play in the community and how being of collective thinking is key to surviving tragedy.
There were moments that were reminiscent of the early pandemic. It left me reflecting on the importance of always being prepared, being adaptive and supportive of your community. It reminded me of how embedded colonialism is into everyday society and how white supremacy exerts its' strong arm as it sees fit and has conditioned some people to believe that force is the only option to survive. Even in moments when all humanity is at risk, the colonialism mentality rears its' ugly head.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, and Violence
jourdanicus's review against another edition
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, and Violence
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Genocide
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