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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Season of Water and Ice

Lystra, Donald. Season of Water and Ice.

An ARC from Kelly & Hall and published by Northern Illinois University Press, Season of Water and Ice is a coming of age story set in the late 1950's.

Danny, 14, lives with his father in a cabin in the north woods of Michigan.  Danny's father abandoned his old job and wants to try living closer to nature and away from the rapid societal changes. His mother, unable to adapt to the new lifestyle has gone to Chicago, and Danny doesn't know if his family will reunite or not.

Eighteen-year-old Amber lives near by, and the two form a friendship--the pregnant teenage girl and the boy whose family appears to be disintegrating.  Both have a sense of abandonment, although Danny's parents, especially his father, are much more caring than Amber's. 

The reviews are quite positive, but I have to say that my initial enjoyment lessened pretty quickly.   The story is certainly character driven, but for some reason, in spite of a surprising ending, the novel felt clinical.

Fiction.  Psychological/Coming-of-Age.  2009.  251 pages.

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