Snow Summer

by Kit Peel

Massive climate change has caused a winter that will not thaw, and it seems that the forces of nature have turned on humanity itself. But in the sleepy British village of Pateley, one special girl may hold the key to the earth’s survival.

Wyn, an orphan, has always known that she is different. Unable to feel the biting cold of wind and snow of Pateley’s endless winter, she does what she can to blend in. But when mysterious figures start to appear in the village, insisting that she may have the power to restore order to the natural world, Wyn must look deep inside herself to face the secrets of her past that she has kept hidden even from herself.

From debut author Kit Peel, Snow Summer is an immersive fantasy novel that expertly conveys the beauty of the natural world and its conflict with human development. A powerful allegory for climate change and global warming, it is nevertheless a timeless story, reminiscent of classics of the genre.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Nature, Childrens

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2016

About the author

Kit Peel was formerly a foreign affairs journalist, travelling from the Arctic to Afghanistan, with long periods in Africa. He wrote the winning libretto for the Genesis Opera prize – the leading award in new opera. Abandoning foreign reporting, Kit returned to the Yorkshire Dales last year with his wife, author M.L. Peel, to take over the family farm and write his first novel. When they are not writing books, they are restoring existing wildflower meadows on the land and creating new ones. Kit is also training as a biodynamic beekeeper and will get his first beehives this summer.

Reviews

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world may be in for an eternal winter if Wyn, a teen from a small English village, doesn’t tap into her newly discovered powers. Her friend/pseudo sister, Kate’s life is endangered, and it’s on Wyn to save her.

Wyn won me over with her childhood story and her fiery personality, and Kate was such a bubbly, endearing girl, I really liked their friendship. I guess I just so enjoyed the early dynamics in the book - Wyn’s touching memories of her foster mother, the girls’ friendship, the local boy hopelessly crushing on Wyn, Lisa’s animosity towards Wyn - that I really wanted those aspects of the story, those emotions, to carry on throughout the book, instead, Wyn went almost entirely away from that the moment she discovers who she is.

It would have been really interesting to see Wyn’s two worlds collide, to negotiate those relationships, maintain her interactions with those characters throughout, particularly since I never really bought into her relationship with mysterious boy Tawhir, and the fantasy elements (her training to save nature, the dragons) weren’t as fully explored as they might have been.

I received this ARC through a Goodreads giveaway.

[Kilgallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really impressed with this one. It has the feeling of a modern fairy tale and will be a great conversation starter about climate change and land stewardship. The reading level is appropriate for older middle school or ya readers. The pacing is good but not break neck. Highly recommended!

[Patricia Kaniasty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a quick and easy read. I just wish that it was enjoyable. Very dull. I almost did not finish it.

[R.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm gonna lay out what I liked, and what disappointed me. Keeping it simple.

What was cool:
- I love English nature writing! The setting of the Yorkshire Dales was lovely to get lost in, the descriptions of snow never grew tiresome.
- the world that the author created is one replete with druidic mythology, nature spirits, and dragons. How cool is that?!
- Wyn (the protagonist) was an enjoyable firecracker of a lady who didn't take no crap from no man. She had a healthy disbelief of the "other" world, and was rightfully outraged at many of the events. All too often characters tend to go along with things for the sake of advancing the plot, and I didn't feel like that happened here.

What was disappointing:
- the "nature writing" was more more like "nature listing". While there were nice passages about snow over the landscape, a lot of the passages concerning specific parts of nature merely listed names of plants that were present. Because of this there was an effect at times of "mille fleurs", which sadly didn't do much for actually bringing me into the place. I could see a mass of listed things, but it was like observing a (admittedly pretty) painting.
- while fun, the mythology crafted for this world just didn't feel reconciled at all with the setting. Spirits with names from vastly different global cultures simply feel strange when placed in the Yorkshire Dales. That's not to say that large things can't happen in small places--but the match feels ill-conceived. I was left wondering why it was set in the Dales at all--what did the Dales add to the story?
- on that note, while I did enjoy Wyn as the protagonist, it was irritating that within this vast, globe-spanning mythology, the main character is, once again, white as the snow around her. Her name as a spirit is Mugasa, and she's a UK girl? Really? One would hope that the author would've picked someone less privileged and connected to colonialism to represent his many-cultured creation.
- this book is pretty darn short, and not just because of the text/spacing. The plot all takes place within two or three days, and man, a lot takes place. After I closed the book I felt as if I had read a highly contained version of a series. In fact, there were several points where I thought to myself how cool it would've been if this had been made into a series, with lots of time spent exploring the cool mythology and Wyn's complicated past, instead of a rushed singular volume.

That about sums it up for me. I was left feeling a little cheated because there were so many great elements and ideas, but with a lackluster execution. Still, it wasn't a bad book, and I was glad to see the heavy focus on the natural world, something I look for in fantasy. I might reread it some years down the line out of curiosity about its aging capabilities--there's so much there that perhaps it will deserve a second go-around.

[ning | m֎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

For such a small book, it sure has a very slow start. Almost DNF’d the book but in my 22 years of existing, I never have and I wasn’t about to start especially on a book with a very interesting premise that i got for a solid 50 cents. Basically the mc, Wyn, is thrust into a world of spirits that control nature and she’s somehow the key to saving the endless winter. I would love to see a more fleshed out version of this book as 220 pages wasn’t enough to properly convey the message of the book as well as the importance of each kind of spirit within the plot. All the characters were a bit bland and even Wyn was a bit hard to like just because of how hard it was to find that connection I get with book characters. It felt like the characters and the story were made at separate points so it was a bit unconnected. Nonetheless, the premise of the story was very beautiful and the importance of loving nature as much as loving yourself is very profound.

2.5/5 ⭐️

[Paul Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book that works on several levels. Was looking for something for my eight-year-old daughter that would incorporate contemporary issues and also have some fantasy elements and this really hits the spot. The author spends a bit of time setting up his heroine Wyn, teasing out some of the back story. She's really great - sparky and strong. The book really takes flight after that and bears close reading as it looks into a grim future where global warming has brought about a seemingly endless winter. Peel's very good at judging his audience, not laying on the allegory with a trowel. Great book, full of action that will keep you (and your kids) engrossed for hours. Read it in one sitting.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took a sudden and exciting turn that I was not expecting, having not read the jacket cover too carefully and bringing it home mainly from the power of the title. Alliteration! Paradox! Mystery!

There were a few times when I wanted to skip ahead, like a small child skipping and shouting "come on already!" I did like it!

I also at times worried it was going to become overly political in its statements, and while it did touch on "humans destroying the earth", it was pretty much left at that and that statement is so true you can hardly argue it no matter your political divide. (Just think of all the songbirds that will never sing in the Appalachian mountains again)

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this book on a list of recommended summer YA books. I had high hopes for liking this but just never really got fully into it. I did want to know what the main character, Wyn, finally decided about how to live her life and deal with the cold summer climate change, so I skimmed through to the end. I was just in the wrong mood and unwilling to fully commit to the supernatural ruling powers of climate.

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "Snow Summer", unusual Wyn, a quiet, young woman, is the main character, even though the beginning of the story does not seem to support that. Winter has come, but does not go away. What does Wyn have to do with this weather phenomena? I enjoyed the concept of old folklore and modern life. We would live in a very unique world if the characters in this story were real!

[Tammy Flanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wish I could say I enjoyed this more. I had hoped the climate change focus would have a strong classroom connection but I'll be hard press to recommend it.

[Sarah Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the cover fool you. This was a treat to read!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kit Peel is great at building worlds- here the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales are meshed together with a fantasy of spirits around the world. Highly recommended

[Deanna Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

a cute story about the seasons and its magic

[Matthew Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow Summer by Kit Peel is fast paced and fluidly written sweeping the reader into a magical world,

Once inside the magical realm, witch Wyn can save if she can remember her powers. The part where Wyn was originally a dragon reincarnated into a human form is a unique twist. I can honestly say I had no idea this was coming.

Peel’s unique writing style is particularly captivating in the beginning chapters when the reader is learning about Wyn, Peel does not divulge all the information nor the back story at the very beginning, I really liked this storytelling.

When Wyn gets help to remember her powers the people that helped her reminded me a little bit of the First Nations peoples, I’m not sure if this was intentional or not.

I know this will be a great book for fans of fantasy and the occult.

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

All her life, Wyn March has struggled to conceal her strange powers from her foster family. When a mysterious boy shows up at the skating rink claiming to know who Wyn really is, she must confront the parts of herself she has tried so desperately to ignore. If the boy is right, she may have the power to finally end the winter that has extended long into summer.

Snow Summer is set in the Yorkshire Dales, where the author is from, and his love of his home and of the natural world shine through the story. His descriptions of the flora and fauna of this region were my favorite parts of the book. His nature-based fantasy world is interesting, but the plot and characters are presented from a distance, making it hard to become fully drawn into the story. As a result the book is enjoyable, but lacks emotional impact.

[Marina Klimova · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was original in its premise and struck a chord in me with the comfort and beauty of spending time in nature. I enjoyed the themes of climate change, loving nature, and friendship and the characters were warm and interesting though the plot felt a bit quick with less character development between Wyn and Tawhir. Their relationship was very sweet but I wished their was more of them in this story. Maybe since that was not as much of an important plot point as her saving the world, is why there wasn't so much of Tawhir in the story. Still, the story seemed to be condensed too tightly and could have been fuller in all of these aspects and in this it would have made for a more gripping tale. Still, the writing style and descriptions of the forests and landscapes were breath-taking and let me to remember my own wonderful experiences in nature.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent fantasy featuring a world frozen by climate change mixed with fantasy elements and pagan nature spirits in Jolly Ole England. It invents little, owes much to CS Lewis and probably Philip Pullman, and starts very slowly -- far too slow for reluctant readers. Overall, it's a bit milk-toast and safe, kind of like England, what with it's lack of deadly creatures and real winters *jab*, but it gathers some steam as it goes, finishing solid fantasy with decent characters, plot and action.

Good!

3.3 Stars

[Cait · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book to read. I was really interested in the story because it was fantasy and because it was dealing with climate change.

The book is a very good mix of fantasy, information on climate change and the effects that humans have on the world. It also deals well with more young adult themes of friendship, and figuring out who you are as a person, and what is right for you - what your truth is.

It's well written, quickly paced, and highly enjoyable. A great read!

[Elliot Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snow Summer is a fabulous piece of story telling for young adults; though, as with Rowling & Pullman, I'd recommend it more broadly. It's a fantastical page-turner that builds brilliantly into a high tension and fast paced tale, brilliantly capable of stopping the TV from being switched on (and the bedside light from being switched off!). It is also an inspired reminder of our own responsibility to respect and protect our natural environment. Great book.

[Astrid Wynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sucks you into an alternate reality that you don't want to leave. I didn't put it down from beginning to end.

[Jenny Staller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a really promising premise and was billed as a "powerful allegory for climate change and global warming", so I was really excited to read it. However, I didn't feel like it lived up to its promise. It reminded me a lot of The Dark is Rising in that, while there was a lot of action, the characters were pretty flat and the action/results didn't seem earned. I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters, so I had a hard time investing in the outcome of the novel. Also the ending was so predictable that the rest of the book felt like a plodding and formulaic march to that inevitable conclusion. I did like the idea of having natural spirits and beings that were tasked with upholding the natural balance and the effects of humanity on that natural world, but I felt like this wasn't explored enough. It's a quick read and might engage younger readers who prefer their books to be plot driven and don't mind a few plotholes or shallow characterization, but most readers could pass on this title.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf page 156
This book worked best for me during the beginning when the focus was on Wyn, her friends, and the goings on of the dale. When the more fantastical elements showed up, like the people connected with nature, the focus shifted completely to them and Wyn, losing the parts of the story I liked. Normally with a book this short, I would try to finish it, but unfortunately, I don't have the time right now.

[alison miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just right for me, I read it so quickly that my patents didn't really know what had happened in the story.