Reviews

When Winter Comes by V. a. Shannon

stephaniehughespratt's review against another edition

4.0

This is a really interesting fictional take on the Donner party.

shipcourt's review against another edition

1.0

I went into the story thinking it would be about survival and the ability to heal from harrowing, unimaginable experiences, as told by the girl who is looking back on them and narrating (a fictional teenager, whose name - aside from her future married name - is never given), but overall the novel felt like it was less about her than it was about the (real) Lewis Keseberg’s role in the events of the Donner-Reed tragedy, and the protagonist’s sympathetic view of him.

Note also that the book’s synopsis mentions a “powerful, unexpected love” - this unfortunately refers to an eventual romantic relationship between the main character and Keseberg, which the novel tries to sell to the reader via scenes such as having Keseberg's wife act cruelly towards the girl. That development didn’t happen until near the end of the novel, but when it did, it was enough for me to stop fully reading with only 70 pages left, and I only skimmed the remainder.

jlongo's review against another edition

4.0

Wow. Very incredible story.

sarkstheobscure's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Cannibalism

ckmccowan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

breeski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I had a tough time rating this. I want to rate it 5 stars but there were a few shortfalls. One is the amount of characters...it's so difficult to keep track of who is who, especially when the groups get divided. There was a lot less tough decision making and cannibalism than I expected, I think the author tried to be respectful of the original party and opted to keep it to a minimum since there were so many false stories and speculations, which I understand. I really enjoyed reading the story of the made up character of the Donner party, but the character wasn't even *with* the donners during the winter, they separated and stayed with a different group...which is why there was less cannibalism. I would hide that as a spoiler but I feel like the premise is very misleading because of that, I felt let down and lied to almost?
The character development was great, I enjoyed the main group of characters, and the flashes to current day were fun to read. Overall I really enjoyed this story once I got over the fact it didn't actually closely follow the Donner party. 

kellian901's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars rounded up. I am (morbidly) fascinated with pioneer survival stories. This is a fictional account and lost a bit of my fascination as a result. Though, it was thought-provoking to imagine how a normal life could be led following such an ordeal. The author describes it as a story about quilting and cannibalism, and despite the potential of such a pairing, it read a bit too neat and tidy.

If the topic is of interest to you, I recommend Desperate Passage by Ethan Rarick. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1132808

melisscharber's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

thejessiejoy's review against another edition

3.0

I usually give just three stars on books that I wouldn’t read again. That’s not the case with this one. But I took one star off initially because I felt like the author went a little easy on our narrator. Like — she’s a strong woman. She should be making the tough decisions along with the rest of them (no, I don’t just mean cannibalism). Instead, she is passive through way too much of her own story.

I took one more star off because there were SO MANY side characters, I lost track before the book was half over. So when some great revelations were made, they didn’t mean anything to me, because I couldn’t remember who they were about. It’s one thing to have a lot of characters. It’s another to never drop tidbits about them here and there to help readers differentiate between who is who.

Ultimately, a decent book about a fascinating true story.

rachelreads_alot's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75