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Snowstorm
Being sixteen is cool, unless you’re in a psych ward.
When sixteen year-old Carly Blackstone wakes up behind bars with a massive headache, she thinks her life can’t get any worse. Unfortunately, it does. Standing before the same juvenile court judge for the fourth time, she is stunned to hear him commit her to a psychiatric hospital.
Once there, she is not only a charity case among a unit full of rich kids, she is battling the doctors and nurses to keep them out of her head. Her psychologist is really good at his job, however, and gradually chips away at her defenses, forcing her to see herself the way others do.
Her roommate’s disastrous decision pushes Carly to consider her own future and make choices that will change her life.
When sixteen year-old Carly Blackstone wakes up behind bars with a massive headache, she thinks her life can’t get any worse. Unfortunately, it does. Standing before the same juvenile court judge for the fourth time, she is stunned to hear him commit her to a psychiatric hospital.
Once there, she is not only a charity case among a unit full of rich kids, she is battling the doctors and nurses to keep them out of her head. Her psychologist is really good at his job, however, and gradually chips away at her defenses, forcing her to see herself the way others do.
Her roommate’s disastrous decision pushes Carly to consider her own future and make choices that will change her life.
278 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2011
2 people want to read
About the author
Connie Hullander
1 book4 followersConnie Hullander was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Through teaching in both high school and college, she gained an understanding of young adults and the challenges faced by so many of them. Currently she lives with her husband in South Carolina and is employed as an instructor at a technical college. Previously published works have included short stories for the annual anthology of the South Carolina Writers Workshop. Snowstorm is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 22, 2020
I read this a while ago, but it’s certainly one of those books that sticks in your mind. This book really made me think, and it was very deep without being overbearing and dark. All of the characters were deeply developed, and they all had real problems that they had faced. The characters have faced dark things, but most are able to grow and overcome their pasts. I really liked this book.
April 19, 2012
Not long ago, I stumbled across new author Connie Hullander's website, read her short story, "If Something Happens To Him," and was quite honestly blown away. On the strength of those two thousand or so words, I waited impatiently for her new book, "Snowstorm," to be released. I didn't even care that it was geared for young adult readers. A really good writer can transcend the boundaries of genres and markets, and I thought Connie might just fit that bill.
She does.
On the first page of "Snowstorm," we meet our teenaged protagonist, Carly Blackstone as she's being processed into a mental hospital as its newest patient. She's scared, she's angry, she's on the combative edge of defensive and she's only there because some jaded judge railroaded her for no better reason than a drunk and disorderly charge. Granted, it's a pretty impressive drunk and disorderly charge involving a trashed bar, nudity and an apron, but that doesn't make her nuts, does it?
Well, no, it doesn't. And yes, it does. And maybe just a little bit of everything in between.
What I love most about Connie Hullander as an author is that she has a very intuitive and pragmatic perception of the human condition. She gets what makes people tick, and she also gets what happens to that tick when someone is--for lack of a better metaphor--dropped from a significant height, or dunked in the deep end, or simply over-wound until the spring snaps. Connie understands that there is no black and white when it comes to the human spirit, but rather that every person exists in a kaleidoscope of grays. For Carly and the other kids in the facility, those kaleidoscopes are ever-changing, ever spinning, sometimes beautiful and sometimes ugly.
Because life is both beautiful and ugly.
Carly, who is not just our heroine but also our narrator, is an absolute gem. She's smart, she has a scathing wit and her view of the world is perfectly appropriate for her age and experience. That's important to me: that Carly is never more wise or insightful than she should be. Other YA authors should take note. Sure, Carly is tough and smart, but she's heartbreakingly vulnerable too. She has no super powers and no fairy godmother. All she has is a gritty perseverance and the personality flaw of too often getting in her own way. From my perspective as a mom, I went through the book wanting to give Carly a big hug, but also wanting to give her space, because there was always such a fine line between what she needed and what she seemed able to accept. I can't compliment a character more than to say that she was real enough to leave me not just emotionally engaged, but conflicted on her behalf.
Maybe that's the key word here. Connie Hullander keeps it REAL. In every way. Her settings are appropriate, her dialogue is nicely tuned, every character's motivations are logically laid out, and even her second-tier characters are so on target that I swear I've seen them walking the halls at the local high school. In fact, she is so adept in the way she weaves layer upon layer and creating depth throughout the story, that the very few scenes that might have blipped on my "whoops, that's over-the-top" radar were both believable and absolutely justified.
The only real question mark I had in my mind when I agreed to review Snowstorm was how an author who is comfortable and competent in a short story format would do with novel length. That question was certainly answered. "Snowstorm" started out as a page turner, never lost momentum and ended in a way that left me completely satisfied.
"Snowstorm," in short, is a book that should please readers of all ages, and it's crafted so well that I could easily see it being used in a classroom alongside of the known classic coming of age novels. As for Connie Hullander, I hope we'll be seeing much more of her work in the future.
She does.
On the first page of "Snowstorm," we meet our teenaged protagonist, Carly Blackstone as she's being processed into a mental hospital as its newest patient. She's scared, she's angry, she's on the combative edge of defensive and she's only there because some jaded judge railroaded her for no better reason than a drunk and disorderly charge. Granted, it's a pretty impressive drunk and disorderly charge involving a trashed bar, nudity and an apron, but that doesn't make her nuts, does it?
Well, no, it doesn't. And yes, it does. And maybe just a little bit of everything in between.
What I love most about Connie Hullander as an author is that she has a very intuitive and pragmatic perception of the human condition. She gets what makes people tick, and she also gets what happens to that tick when someone is--for lack of a better metaphor--dropped from a significant height, or dunked in the deep end, or simply over-wound until the spring snaps. Connie understands that there is no black and white when it comes to the human spirit, but rather that every person exists in a kaleidoscope of grays. For Carly and the other kids in the facility, those kaleidoscopes are ever-changing, ever spinning, sometimes beautiful and sometimes ugly.
Because life is both beautiful and ugly.
Carly, who is not just our heroine but also our narrator, is an absolute gem. She's smart, she has a scathing wit and her view of the world is perfectly appropriate for her age and experience. That's important to me: that Carly is never more wise or insightful than she should be. Other YA authors should take note. Sure, Carly is tough and smart, but she's heartbreakingly vulnerable too. She has no super powers and no fairy godmother. All she has is a gritty perseverance and the personality flaw of too often getting in her own way. From my perspective as a mom, I went through the book wanting to give Carly a big hug, but also wanting to give her space, because there was always such a fine line between what she needed and what she seemed able to accept. I can't compliment a character more than to say that she was real enough to leave me not just emotionally engaged, but conflicted on her behalf.
Maybe that's the key word here. Connie Hullander keeps it REAL. In every way. Her settings are appropriate, her dialogue is nicely tuned, every character's motivations are logically laid out, and even her second-tier characters are so on target that I swear I've seen them walking the halls at the local high school. In fact, she is so adept in the way she weaves layer upon layer and creating depth throughout the story, that the very few scenes that might have blipped on my "whoops, that's over-the-top" radar were both believable and absolutely justified.
The only real question mark I had in my mind when I agreed to review Snowstorm was how an author who is comfortable and competent in a short story format would do with novel length. That question was certainly answered. "Snowstorm" started out as a page turner, never lost momentum and ended in a way that left me completely satisfied.
"Snowstorm," in short, is a book that should please readers of all ages, and it's crafted so well that I could easily see it being used in a classroom alongside of the known classic coming of age novels. As for Connie Hullander, I hope we'll be seeing much more of her work in the future.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews