Snow

Trehan, Meera. Snow

January 14, 2025 by Walker Books US

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ela is on vacation with her parents, who are "quirky scientists"; hydrologists who don't want to go to the beach but would rather rent a cabin in a snowy woods so they can study mist and snow. Since Ela occasional gets "vertigsnow" and feels dizzy and nauseated when out in the snow, she's not keen on cross country skiing like her parents are. She's also irritated because her mother has locked up her favorite book, a story about a snow princess, as well as a toy butterfly that went along with it. Ela has had a difficult time recently with her best friend, Kavi, so she decides to go on a walk to get away and clear her head. Meanwhile, we have met Princess Karina, who is dealing with her own problems. Her kingdom has filled up with neverending snow because of something she did, and her father, the King, expects her to dig for hours to try to solve the problem. She has just found a "Flutterbye" is the snow, and thinks this is a good sign, but it was apparently brought that by Ela, who has past through a mist barrier and ended up in Karina's alternate universe kingdom. The Princess responds in the regal manner she has been taught, but is irrritated to lose the Flutterbye. She tries to get Ela to stop by her cottage, have tea, and go back to the palace, thinking that this will make her father happier. Ela is uncomfortable when the girls take refuge in the Yurts of Plenty from the Hounds that are chasing them, and wants to go back home. Because of the Hounds, mechanical dogs who belong to the king, the girls try to find a quicker way to get to the palace and find a sled... that they BOTH remember as belonging to their fathers! The Princess knows more than Ela does, but it is soon revealed that Ela's mother is the Princess' aunt, and the sister of the king, who fell in love with a scientist who made it through the Mists into the kingdom. The aunt would return every year and give Karina Flutterbyes for her birthday, but on her 13th birthday, she was irritated by something Lord Hesketh's obnoxious sons said, and said she wanted a different gift. This leads to the problem of neverending snow with the kingdom, and the fact that the King made time stand still until Karina solved it. Now that both girls know the secret, will they be able to return the kingdom to its former glory and be able to be friends? 
Strengths: Portal fantasies are always interesting, and the idea of an eternal winter is fun to revisit from time to time. The thing I liked best about this was Karina's "princess training", and how she was always supposed to be smiling, gracious, and somewhat aloof... sort of the same way teachers should behave! The mystery of the girls' connection, as well as the problems with the kingdom, are slowly rolled out, and intricately woven. The fantasy elements and world building are strong, and the Yurts of Plenty are particularly intriguing. Adding friend drama in Ela's world as a reason why she is sort of running away is always a good addition to a middle grade story. This author also wrote The View from the Very Best House in Town. 
Weaknesses: This seemed a bit on the young side, especially when the girls named their magical sled Cuddle-Lump. Yet, the book is rather long. I had hoped for a more complete resolution at the end. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like winter related fantasies like Constable's Wolf Princess, Rudnick's A Frozen Heart, Hasting's The Frost Fair, Houts' Winterfrost, Prineas' Winterling, or Wilson's The Lost Frost Girl.