The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey

I've never wanted to travel to Alaska as badly as I did after reading this book. The Snow Child is set in 1920s Alaska - before statehood and oil booms, when the government wanted desperately for people to go and settle the seemingly untameable land. And so people did. They went, and they failed, and they returned to the lower 48. But this story is about Jack and Mabel, who ran a farm in Pennsylvania until the weight of their grief over losing and then not being able to bear children became too great. Seeking solitude and a fresh start, Jack and Mabel choose to start a homestead in Alaska.

But, well, it's not going very well. Mabel is very depressed, and Jack isn't quite prepared for the ruggedness and the work required to tame the land. So one night, after a fresh snowfall, they are filled with a whimsy and a memory of their early days together and build a snowgirl. They dress her in red mittens and hat and paint her lips with cranberry juice. The next morning, the snowgirl is knocked over and they begin to glimpse a girl in the woods.

They eventually befriend the girl, Faina, a wild child who is one with the woods. She disappears in the spring and returns in the winter. Based on a old Russian folktale, the story rides the edge of fantasy and reality. The writing is absolutely fantastic and honestly if it were straightforward it would have been just as good. But it's not entirely straightforward and I appreciate the latitude the author gives the reader in deciding the ultimate fate of the characters. 

Too say too much else would give away the ending and maybe determine too much that is best left to the imagination.

4/5 Stars.