Winter’s End by Jean-Claude Mourlevant

Mourlevant, Jean-Claude Winter’s End, 415 p. Candlewick, 2009. $17.99. Language: PG (4 swears); Violence: PG-13. Helen, Milena, Bartolomeo and Milos meet by chance and start a chain of events that bode for universally sweeping changes in their country. When Milena and Bart run away from their respective boarding schools, Helen and Milos are compelled to follow, and all four of them leap straight into danger – three of them into the hands of the underground resistance and safety and one of them into a a world of gladiator-like fights to the death. The three must race to save the life of the fourth. Winter’s End is a translation of the French original, published in 2006 and the translation is one of the best I have read in a long time. While it will remind some of Hunger Games, this is more subtle and may not attract quite as large of an audience. That being said, however, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it would be a good choice for kids after they have read the other. MS, HS – OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library-Teacher.