Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child

I read a beautiful book this month. It is the adaption of a Russian fairy tale called The Snow Child.

What first drew me to the book was its beautiful cover. Seriously, the publisher did a fantastic job of making me want to pick this book up off of the shelf.

I initially saw this book for sale on Amazon this summer. I read the first few chapters that were previewed and knew that I had to read this book, but I waited. One cannot go off and read a book called the Snow Child in the middle of summer. It's just wrong.

So it was perfect when my grandmother gave me a copy of this book for Christmas! Some books are so lovely that you simply must make their reading a special event. They need big blankets and cozy chairs and cups of tea to add to the magic that is in their pages. And so it was with this book. Rarely have I enjoyed reading a story as much as I have enjoyed this one.

The writing in it feels like poetry. It is simple, but it flows like a song. It is a haunting and bittersweet story of an old man and woman who are childless and who have moved to Alaska to give free reign to their grief over the stillbirth of their only child. It is only then, when they have given up hope on their dream of growing their family, and when things are at their darkest and bleakest point of the Alaskan winter that something astounding happens, and the little snow child comes.

It is magical and sweet. It uplifts your heart, but makes you want to cry.

I loved it.