Review: Beautiful, thought-provoking, and emotional. A wonderful read!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 4, 2012
Wow! To say this book took me by surprise is an understatement. The level of tragedy is heartwrenching, but so profound. From the first page, you are immediately sucked in. How deep this story goes is amazing and will leave you breathless.The Color of Snow follows a young girl named Sophie whose lived a very sheltered life. She has been brought up differently. All she does is read, draw and do chores around the house when her father isn't home. Her father keeps her in their home away from people because he warns her that they could hurt people. He says they are both cursed. But Sophie is always daydreaming about having human interactions with others especially the boy she has been in love with since she was eleven. Of course, dad never knew, but things change one day that could stop her from seeing him forever when it seems the curse has made an appearance. But Sophie doesn't know the true extent of who she is and whether her father or the people who claim to be her lost family are lying to her.Goodness, this book was hard to read, but in a good way. It is so heartbreaking, you do need to stop and catch your breath a few times. I love Sophie and the emotional rollercoaster she puts us on. A girl who has been told one thing all her life, kept isolated most of her life thinking she is cursed. I love that even though she is told these things, she wants to be more. She is brave and strong, but she doesn't know it. You relate to her a lot and root for her to find her own answers and herself. She learns how to do more of that though through her "kind of" cousin Stephanie. Meeting her is one of the best things that happens to Sophie. You will love her, trust me.I love how the book alternates between Sophie's POV and her father's. It really builds up the mystery of the story more. You really can't stop trying to get to the bottom of it all. We see Sophie flashback to when she first met Damien and all that has happened to them to this point which lead to strange people knocking at her door. She is definitely scared and all she wants is to go home. Just imagining a girl being sheltered and then thrust into another family in less than a day is just overwhelming. You share those feelings with her. I love following her journey to discover the truth. It is such a significant part of the story and her life as a whole. Then her dad's story of his love for a girl he shouldn't be with because her dad saw him as nothing but a mule. The pain they both share is intense, but more so with her dad. His story is where the actual romance comes in, not much with Sophie. But the things that follow are just...goodness, I can't say it.Another review that is difficult to write because it is so good and I don't want to reveal too much. Stanley has done such a beautiful job with this book. She handles topics in this book that most avoid and does it in a way that feels real and not like propaganda. This is one of the freshest YA books I have read. It packs a punch and the fact that this is Contemporary is surprising given that this book isn't as paranormal as it sounds. You are good Stanley. Seriously, this book feels so real, but you wouldn't have guessed that it wasn't paranormal. But even with my unconditional love for all things paranormal and fantasy, this book managed to feed into that without actually having it (that made sense, right?) The Color Of Snow is one of those reads that when you finish it, it will stick with you for a while and probably have you crying for sometime too. This is a very thought-provoking read that I believe everyone should be reading. Okay, I am stopping here, spoiling is becoming too tempting. Read this pronto!