Yates, Alexander The Winter Place, 438 pages. Atheneum, 2016. $12.
Language: PG-13 (43 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG
(some fighting).
Tess and Axel’s mom died years ago, but when their father is
killed in a freak accident, the pair is devastated. Matters only get worse when the siblings
learn that their maternal grandparents, whom they didn’t know existed, live in
Finland and they are going to have to join them there. Axel, especially, is devastated and feels
that it is his mission to connect with his parents in the spirit world. When he disappears, Tess is mystified and
desperate.
I don’t know much (anything) about Finnish folklore, so I
have no idea if the spirit world portrayed is accurate or a completely new
fabrication. Either way, it is very
distressing and unappealing as a mythology.
While I tried to care about Tess and Alex, it just didn’t click for
me. If you have students who love books
about death and mourning, this might be an option for you.
HS – OPTIONAL. Cindy,
Library Teacher
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