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The Green Hills #1
Print in the Snow: Anna's Adventure in the Wyssun World
Join the unlikely heroine of this lushly illustrated winter fairytale on an adventure of a lifetime.
Fourteen-year-old Anna has just moved to New York with her mother and stepfather, and she hates everything about her new life. After another argument with her mother, she defiantly sneaks out to ski in Riverside Park.
Much to her surprise she meets another cross-country skier, a cute, if odd, boy about her own age. Against her better judgment, she follows him into a snow-covered magical Otherworld inhabited by the monstrous Wyssun and the Skiers who hunt them. Mistaken for a boy, Anna is accepted by the peculiar Skiers as one of their own, and becomes trapped in the Wyssun' World.
Run by elves, and not the Keebler kind, it's a confusing and dangerous place. Anna must get back home before the fairy tale turns into a nightmare. She has to unlock secret doors, make new friends, negotiate glaciers and battle tunnel-dwelling beasts, all the while trying to win the affection of the oblivious boy she likes and fend off the advances of a mysterious sorcerer she hates.
As Anna struggles against the monstrous world, she fights the inner monsters as well. Before she discovers the truth about love, she has to learn the value of loss, only then can she find the way home.
Fourteen-year-old Anna has just moved to New York with her mother and stepfather, and she hates everything about her new life. After another argument with her mother, she defiantly sneaks out to ski in Riverside Park.
Much to her surprise she meets another cross-country skier, a cute, if odd, boy about her own age. Against her better judgment, she follows him into a snow-covered magical Otherworld inhabited by the monstrous Wyssun and the Skiers who hunt them. Mistaken for a boy, Anna is accepted by the peculiar Skiers as one of their own, and becomes trapped in the Wyssun' World.
Run by elves, and not the Keebler kind, it's a confusing and dangerous place. Anna must get back home before the fairy tale turns into a nightmare. She has to unlock secret doors, make new friends, negotiate glaciers and battle tunnel-dwelling beasts, all the while trying to win the affection of the oblivious boy she likes and fend off the advances of a mysterious sorcerer she hates.
As Anna struggles against the monstrous world, she fights the inner monsters as well. Before she discovers the truth about love, she has to learn the value of loss, only then can she find the way home.
- GenresFantasy
104 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 23, 2011
4 people are currently reading
415 people want to read
About the author
E.V. Svetova
2 books55 followersE. V. Svetova is an award-winning author of speculative fiction. A life-long New Yorker, she lives at the edge of the last natural forest on the island of Manhattan with her husband, a digital animator, sharing their old apartment with an ever-expanding library and a spoiled English bulldog.
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October 14, 2020An interview with Ananke Press.
Print In The Snow is a fairytale that enchants children and adults alike. What is its intended audience in your own mind?
Being a devoted J.R.R. Tolkien fan, I instinctively look to his books for inspiration and guidance. The Hobbit was intended as a children’s story, but the world and the characters developed and took on a life of their own. What grew out of the fairy tale was The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, and it’s definitely more than a bedtime story for little kids. When I started writing Print In The Snow, it was a humorous, light-hearted, almost parody-like story drawing on many of my childhood interests. As I grew, the story grew as well, and more serious elements emerged. I hope that as it stands now, Print In The Snow has something for both young and grown-up readers, just like The Hobbit had for me as a kid and still has today.
In the story the theme of skiing is very prominent. Does skiing have a special significance to you?
I grew up in Russia, skiing is what you do in winter, and the winter is nine months out of the year. I’ve been a skier all though my childhood, both cross-country and downhill. It’s really the only sport I’m good at. When you run through the snow, you compete not against other skiers but against the elements that are so much greater than you, and that is very exciting.
What is the story behind wyssuns?
The word wyssun has origins in the Russian language, having to do with the verb “to poke out” and a couple of other verbs that are not so innocent. The word is perfect for a sneaky, fussy monster; it even sounds like a little monster hissing. I started using this word in the late 80s, and for years in was an in-joke between me and my friends in Moscow. Another friend introduced it to her circle in St. Petersburg. Decades later, I’ve been hearing retellings of those same jokes by the kids in other towns, so the wyssuns now have a life of their own.
The book is rich with amazing portraits of Anna and the creatures of the Wyssun World. Can you share more about the artist, and how these stunning illustrations came to be?
I was lucky to develop a relationship with a uniquely talented artist, Marina Botyleva. She’d just graduated from a prestigious art academy, and was rapidly gaining a cult status among her peers. She liked my story. Marina used the dolls that I designed to embody the characters as a starting point, and let her imagination soar. Without her gorgeous watercolors this project wouldn’t have been the same.
Your first language is Russian, yet you wrote Print In The Snow in English. Did you put any linguistic Easter Eggs that only a Russian speaker would understand?
Funny you should ask! The very early draft of this story, which was quite different from the final book, was written in Russian after the elaborate game between me and my dear friend Irina Maslova when were university freshmen, skiing in the Sokolniki Park in Moscow. It was filled to the brim with pop culture references, wordplay and quotes from the beloved Russian rock band Akvarium. Understandably, most of those in-jokes and puns didn’t translate into English at all, so they didn’t make it into the final story. But there are a few lines that an Akvarium fan might find curiously familiar.
What are your influences for this book?
I am hugely indebted to Jim Henson’s Labyrinth as a great source of inspiration for a classical heroine’s journey. The story of a young person’s quest through a world of monsters is as timeless as storytelling itself; each of us only tells their own version. Of course, David Bowie’s unforgettable Jareth the Goblin King is echoed in the character of the archetypal charismatic villain Lord Yaret.
What are your future plans for these characters?
After I finished the book, I honestly thought I was done with the characters. But then, one winter, I was down with a high fever, and had a vivid dream in which I clearly saw the story of Anna as a young adult, and what would happen if the Wyssun World caught up with her. That is how my next novel, Over The Hills Of Green, was born. As I was writing it, the story of Lord Yaret’s origins also started coming to me, and it became the third book of The Green Hills trilogy.
January 19, 2020
This story is fabulous! I don't really read fantasy books but I was fully invested in this. A smart, totally thinking outside the box fantasy. The art work through out is very cool.
Dawnny-BookGypsy
Novels N Latte
Hudson Valley NY
Dawnny-BookGypsy
Novels N Latte
Hudson Valley NY
August 13, 2018
I've read it several years ago..and now not-that-patiently waiting for new books in this very interesting world
March 26, 2021
This wonderful book provides me with a look back at my youth. A time when dreams and reality did not seem that much different from each other. The Author, Ms. Svetova is an excellent writer. The journey was well situated and keep me caught up until the very end. The beautifully illustrated pictures were tastefully done. To be lost in a book is the greatest reward for a writer to achieve. This book did not disappoint!
April 22, 2020
Have you ever had a dream, full of wonder and mystery, insights and revelations about who you are and what the world actually is, only to wake up in the morning and realize that you forgot what exactly the dream was about? You try so hard to remember what happened in that dream but ultimately realize that it's lost forever? E.V. Svetova's book is both dreamlike and real, but most importantly, it will show you what it would be like if you could remember that wonderful, exciting dream of yours and write it down in a language so beautiful and poignant that your imagination would run wild every time you read it. I loved this book and cannot wait for my children to grow up so that I could share this jewel with them!
October 6, 2019
I was drawn by the artwork which is in the style of the best children's books of old, gorgeous original watercolor paintings. the book has a very dreamy, anime quality. Very unexpected and enjoyable, certainly more for adults than for children, but a young reader will still enjoy.
December 3, 2019
Wow?!
Not sure what I read. It reminds me of Neverwhere by N. Gaiman. This was quite the fairy tale. I’ll have to reread it too get more insight. Definitely a new experience.
Not sure what I read. It reminds me of Neverwhere by N. Gaiman. This was quite the fairy tale. I’ll have to reread it too get more insight. Definitely a new experience.
July 8, 2021
"Print in the Snow: Anna's Adventure in the Wyssun World" by E.V. Svetova is a mystical adventure into a wintry world of magic and mystery creates a life changing experience for a teenaged girl.
Fourteen year old Anna's world has been tipped upside down. Her father died unexpectedly, and her mother quickly remarried a man who Anna isn't sure qualifies as stepfather material. Then she discovers their secret, which makes her feel betrayed.
After moving to a new house far from her friends and beloved ski team, she reaches her boiling point when the stress of unpacking, both literally and emotionally, becomes overwhelming. She sneaks off with her skis into the snow. And that is when her strange adventure begins.
Anna meets an extraordinary boy, a fellow skier. They quickly forge a friendship and she marvells at his apparent skills in the snow. There is something mysterious about him, and the friends he introduces her to. They are Skiers, a band of magical people who protect their world from a nefarious power.
Anna finds herself trapped within this mystical universe, and must fight alongside her new comrades to negate the presence of the monstrous enemy. In the meantime, she is catching feelings for the boy she first encountered, while fending off the disgusting affections of a gross older sorcerer.
Fighting inwardly with her own love, loss, and bitterness, Anna is also fighting for her life. When her crush is struck down by the enemy, she must face the consequences of her own reaction to turmoil.
Will love save the day? Or is all lost in the past? Anna discovers the truth in her own life while defending the world she has grown to accept, despite the horrific challenges.
This book reminds me of Neil Gaiman's "Underworld" and L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz." It is a perfect enthralling read for fans of fairy tales and stories with parallell universes.
The language and subject matter makes it appropriate for all ages, particularly teens.
E.V. Svetova has once again succeeded in creating a magical story that will be beloved by all who read it.
Fourteen year old Anna's world has been tipped upside down. Her father died unexpectedly, and her mother quickly remarried a man who Anna isn't sure qualifies as stepfather material. Then she discovers their secret, which makes her feel betrayed.
After moving to a new house far from her friends and beloved ski team, she reaches her boiling point when the stress of unpacking, both literally and emotionally, becomes overwhelming. She sneaks off with her skis into the snow. And that is when her strange adventure begins.
Anna meets an extraordinary boy, a fellow skier. They quickly forge a friendship and she marvells at his apparent skills in the snow. There is something mysterious about him, and the friends he introduces her to. They are Skiers, a band of magical people who protect their world from a nefarious power.
Anna finds herself trapped within this mystical universe, and must fight alongside her new comrades to negate the presence of the monstrous enemy. In the meantime, she is catching feelings for the boy she first encountered, while fending off the disgusting affections of a gross older sorcerer.
Fighting inwardly with her own love, loss, and bitterness, Anna is also fighting for her life. When her crush is struck down by the enemy, she must face the consequences of her own reaction to turmoil.
Will love save the day? Or is all lost in the past? Anna discovers the truth in her own life while defending the world she has grown to accept, despite the horrific challenges.
This book reminds me of Neil Gaiman's "Underworld" and L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz." It is a perfect enthralling read for fans of fairy tales and stories with parallell universes.
The language and subject matter makes it appropriate for all ages, particularly teens.
E.V. Svetova has once again succeeded in creating a magical story that will be beloved by all who read it.
March 20, 2019
•audiobook•
This was an okay book. I’ve come to expect more from fantasy main characters (Yeah, I avoid a lot of the angst-y, snarky love triangle kinds) and this seemed slightly different.
The book description indicated she had a fight with her mom, which caused her to runaway. It was actually a fight because she wanted to go skiing, so she did. It wasn’t like the book blurb; my first let down and indication the book would not live up to a fraction of my expectations for a MG book.
Unfortunately, we have a too-realistic modern girl who falls in love with a boy because of his looks and it’s too bogus to make me believe it.
Her moods and thoughts and feelings are all over the place. So despite the unique world and characters, it felt like a really bad dream.
The narrator started off strong and good. Perhaps she got bored with the story, characters, and plot because it also faltered and dimmed the delivery.
Thank goddess the audio was only three hours. I couldn’t have handled more.
This was an okay book. I’ve come to expect more from fantasy main characters (Yeah, I avoid a lot of the angst-y, snarky love triangle kinds) and this seemed slightly different.
The book description indicated she had a fight with her mom, which caused her to runaway. It was actually a fight because she wanted to go skiing, so she did. It wasn’t like the book blurb; my first let down and indication the book would not live up to a fraction of my expectations for a MG book.
Unfortunately, we have a too-realistic modern girl who falls in love with a boy because of his looks and it’s too bogus to make me believe it.
Her moods and thoughts and feelings are all over the place. So despite the unique world and characters, it felt like a really bad dream.
The narrator started off strong and good. Perhaps she got bored with the story, characters, and plot because it also faltered and dimmed the delivery.
Thank goddess the audio was only three hours. I couldn’t have handled more.
April 29, 2020
What...the...fuck? Just...what the fuck?
I have only the vaguest idea of what's going in this story because everything is so unclear, badly explained, and the main character has little interest in anything beyond a pretty face she claims to love after five minutes and puts almost no effort into figuring anything out. The main character is a whiny, melodramatic brat with no redeeming qualities, and I wanted to hit her upside the head for the vast majority of the book. I had planned to read these noth books one and two of the series for a reading challenge, but I pushed myself to finish just this one and the best part of the book was finally putting it down, so that's not happening. This is not a book that I would recommend to anyone, and I'm actually kind of upset I'm past the return period on these books and can't return them anymore.
I have only the vaguest idea of what's going in this story because everything is so unclear, badly explained, and the main character has little interest in anything beyond a pretty face she claims to love after five minutes and puts almost no effort into figuring anything out. The main character is a whiny, melodramatic brat with no redeeming qualities, and I wanted to hit her upside the head for the vast majority of the book. I had planned to read these noth books one and two of the series for a reading challenge, but I pushed myself to finish just this one and the best part of the book was finally putting it down, so that's not happening. This is not a book that I would recommend to anyone, and I'm actually kind of upset I'm past the return period on these books and can't return them anymore.
April 28, 2021
Intense and evocative
A girl feeling uprooted and unloved experiences a strange world which she can't escape until the many denizens teach her to love .
A girl feeling uprooted and unloved experiences a strange world which she can't escape until the many denizens teach her to love .
February 11, 2025
Great story for teens and young adults. Full of magic and adventure. The illustrations are fantastic!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews