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Snowsisters
"A compelling portrayal of two young girls from different worlds headed after what they want but slowing down enough to connect and remind us that strength and doing the right thing can be all kinds of messy and complicated I m all over that!"—M-E Girard, author of GIRL MANS UP
High school students—Soph, who attends private school in Manhattan, and Tess, a public school student who lives on a dairy farm in New Hampshire—are thrown together as roommates at a week-long writing conference. As they get to know each other and the other young women, both Soph and Tess discover unexpected truths about friendship, their craft, and how to hold fast to their convictions while opening their hearts to love.
High school students—Soph, who attends private school in Manhattan, and Tess, a public school student who lives on a dairy farm in New Hampshire—are thrown together as roommates at a week-long writing conference. As they get to know each other and the other young women, both Soph and Tess discover unexpected truths about friendship, their craft, and how to hold fast to their convictions while opening their hearts to love.
262 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 15, 2018
6 people are currently reading
720 people want to read
About the author
Tom Wilinsky
2 books8 followersWe're Tom and Jen. We met in high school and started a conversation which, years later, is ongoing.
About Tom: Tom lives in New York with his partner and the world's most beloved orange tabby cat, Newky. He likes cold weather, anything with zombies in it and old cars. Never has he ever…been picked first for a team in Phys. Ed… used a selfie-stick… gotten Jen to watch an episode of South Park....
About Jen: Jen lives in Rhode Island with her husband, two kids and a cranky seven-toed cat named Sassy. She likes live theater, visiting any place she's never been before, and admits to a mild Twitter addiction. Never has she ever...won a game of Scrabble...remembered the lyrics to the The Big Bang Theory theme song… been able to convince Tom to read a self-help book…
About Tom: Tom lives in New York with his partner and the world's most beloved orange tabby cat, Newky. He likes cold weather, anything with zombies in it and old cars. Never has he ever…been picked first for a team in Phys. Ed… used a selfie-stick… gotten Jen to watch an episode of South Park....
About Jen: Jen lives in Rhode Island with her husband, two kids and a cranky seven-toed cat named Sassy. She likes live theater, visiting any place she's never been before, and admits to a mild Twitter addiction. Never has she ever...won a game of Scrabble...remembered the lyrics to the The Big Bang Theory theme song… been able to convince Tom to read a self-help book…
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April 22, 2025-
dnf
January 13, 2018I received an arc from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review
dnf @ 25%
I'm dnfing this because there's a trans character in this who was consistently misgendered by a side character and was not called out for it. I don't know if she's called out later but she did it twice and the character narrating had the chance to stop her and did nothing. The character misgendering her was also written as a super flat 'bitchy' character, who kept mocking Tess for writing fanfiction. That's still not okay, no one was stopping her from misgendering the trans girl.
I should also point out a few other things, especially things that fall into transphobic tropes. From what I read, the trans girl isn't misgendered to her face but when spoken about to another character (the narrator, Tess). She also 1) outed her as trans to Tess and 2) the transphobic girl found out said girl was trans after accidentally seeing her naked since they're roommates at the program. The latter is a very transphobic trope in of itself. Even after being misgendered, Tess still refers to her by her pronouns so she does understand she's trans and this other character is misgendering her but still does nothing about it, which made me really uncomfortable. The same girl said fanfiction wasn't real literature and the authors wrote a few pages on why it is and how Westside Story is a fanfic of Romeo and Juliet, which is a fanfic of a poem, which is a fanfic of something else. Yet they can't take even a sentence for Tess to say "hey maybe you should stop".
Update: So, I should say I never doubted that the behaviour would be called out. But I am personally not a fan of reading prejudice towards a character from an outsider's perspective. I'd rather they have a pov so it can be known how that said character is feeling.
dnf @ 25%
I'm dnfing this because there's a trans character in this who was consistently misgendered by a side character and was not called out for it. I don't know if she's called out later but she did it twice and the character narrating had the chance to stop her and did nothing. The character misgendering her was also written as a super flat 'bitchy' character, who kept mocking Tess for writing fanfiction. That's still not okay, no one was stopping her from misgendering the trans girl.
I should also point out a few other things, especially things that fall into transphobic tropes. From what I read, the trans girl isn't misgendered to her face but when spoken about to another character (the narrator, Tess). She also 1) outed her as trans to Tess and 2) the transphobic girl found out said girl was trans after accidentally seeing her naked since they're roommates at the program. The latter is a very transphobic trope in of itself. Even after being misgendered, Tess still refers to her by her pronouns so she does understand she's trans and this other character is misgendering her but still does nothing about it, which made me really uncomfortable. The same girl said fanfiction wasn't real literature and the authors wrote a few pages on why it is and how Westside Story is a fanfic of Romeo and Juliet, which is a fanfic of a poem, which is a fanfic of something else. Yet they can't take even a sentence for Tess to say "hey maybe you should stop".
Update: So, I should say I never doubted that the behaviour would be called out. But I am personally not a fan of reading prejudice towards a character from an outsider's perspective. I'd rather they have a pov so it can be known how that said character is feeling.
January 17, 2018
Update 1/13/18
Unfortunately, I'm lowering my rating to two stars because after reading another review and rereading a few excerpts, I realize that the trans rep was handled even more poorly than I previously thought. :( Disappointing.
I did not make any changes to my original review.
--
Review trigger warning : transphobia mention (it’s tagged)
Actual Rating: 2.5
There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that this book has, you heard me, gay. witches. The bad news is that they are not actual characters in the book; rather, they appear in a TV show/fanfic within the story. But, gay witches aside, this was such a fun, refreshing, and diverse read! I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. It definitely wasn’t perfect, but I had an enjoyable time.
Before I begin, I want to give major props to the publishers for including a link to a list of all the content/trigger warnings for each one of their books! Other publishing companies, take notes, because content warnings are so important to include so that readers can make smart choices on what books to read (and not to read) and can avoid books that may be detrimental to their mental and emotional health. (For those interested, the list can be found here.)
This book really had those winter vibes, and it got me into that cozy, holiday mood that I’ve been missing out on this December. It’s a great rainy-day read, especially if you want the winter feel but without any holidays attached!
The characters were well-written, though not much of anything new. For about the first twenty percent of the novel, the narrators were largely interchangeable to me, and I wish that the voices had been more distinct in writing. Their actions and lives were certainly different, and yet their voices were the same. Soph’s character development was stunning, and definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. However, the other girls at the conference, save the main few such as Orly, Chris, and Yin, all blended together in my mind, and it would have been nice to get some different characteristics from all of them beyond physical descriptions and who was/wasn’t transphobic. (more on this later)
The writing flowed well, which was nice, but it often felt lacking in emotion, and did a lot of telling instead of showing. I didn’t really mind this, since it was an easy-read, but it would have been nice for it to give me SOMETHING more to think about besides what was on the page. This also made the romance have not as much chemistry as it could have, and in general the writing did not blow me away.
The plot in this book was slightly cliché, but it was a sapphic love story so who cares anyway?? I also loved the cabin setting and the inclusion of some of my favorite tropes such as .
This book is also fandom-positive, which I always enjoy, and it was nice to see fandom as more of a natural side plot instead of the main focus of the book.
Sounds like a pretty sweet book, right? Right?? RIGHT???!!??!?!??
There were two (and a half) things that really bugged me though. How unfortunate.
First, bi erasure. There is one part, during Soph’s narration, where all the girls are chatting at a pizza parlor and Soph is wondering if one of the girls had a girlfriend, and then the girl says this:
Now I’m going to talk about the trans rep and some issues I had with the way it was written, but I’m just going to go ahead and mark the entire section as spoilers (though all spoilers are minor). Trigger Warning for transphobia.
Another half thing that annoyed me was Soph’s blatant refusal to acknowledge that it isn’t safe for every person in the world to come out. One quote at the beginning reads,
To conclude, I just want to remind everyone that my opinions are taken from an uncorrected proof. When the finished product comes out, I will try to pick it up and see if some things are adjusted. This might still be a worthwhile read for you; however, I wouldn’t blame anyone for skipping this one. It’s your decision.
I was provided an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review. All opinions are taken from an uncorrected proof.
P.S. Got one more square on my #SapphicAThon bingo sheet completed! Made this one pink because this book is hella pink.
Unfortunately, I'm lowering my rating to two stars because after reading another review and rereading a few excerpts, I realize that the trans rep was handled even more poorly than I previously thought. :( Disappointing.
I did not make any changes to my original review.
--
Review trigger warning : transphobia mention (it’s tagged)
Actual Rating: 2.5
There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that this book has, you heard me, gay. witches. The bad news is that they are not actual characters in the book; rather, they appear in a TV show/fanfic within the story. But, gay witches aside, this was such a fun, refreshing, and diverse read! I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. It definitely wasn’t perfect, but I had an enjoyable time.
Before I begin, I want to give major props to the publishers for including a link to a list of all the content/trigger warnings for each one of their books! Other publishing companies, take notes, because content warnings are so important to include so that readers can make smart choices on what books to read (and not to read) and can avoid books that may be detrimental to their mental and emotional health. (For those interested, the list can be found here.)
This book really had those winter vibes, and it got me into that cozy, holiday mood that I’ve been missing out on this December. It’s a great rainy-day read, especially if you want the winter feel but without any holidays attached!
The characters were well-written, though not much of anything new. For about the first twenty percent of the novel, the narrators were largely interchangeable to me, and I wish that the voices had been more distinct in writing. Their actions and lives were certainly different, and yet their voices were the same. Soph’s character development was stunning, and definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. However, the other girls at the conference, save the main few such as Orly, Chris, and Yin, all blended together in my mind, and it would have been nice to get some different characteristics from all of them beyond physical descriptions and who was/wasn’t transphobic. (more on this later)
The writing flowed well, which was nice, but it often felt lacking in emotion, and did a lot of telling instead of showing. I didn’t really mind this, since it was an easy-read, but it would have been nice for it to give me SOMETHING more to think about besides what was on the page. This also made the romance have not as much chemistry as it could have, and in general the writing did not blow me away.
The plot in this book was slightly cliché, but it was a sapphic love story so who cares anyway?? I also loved the cabin setting and the inclusion of some of my favorite tropes such as .
This book is also fandom-positive, which I always enjoy, and it was nice to see fandom as more of a natural side plot instead of the main focus of the book.
Sounds like a pretty sweet book, right? Right?? RIGHT???!!??!?!??
There were two (and a half) things that really bugged me though. How unfortunate.
First, bi erasure. There is one part, during Soph’s narration, where all the girls are chatting at a pizza parlor and Soph is wondering if one of the girls had a girlfriend, and then the girl says this:
”’A guy at my new high school asked me out – if it weren’t so far, I’d introduce them so I could see what Max thinks of Evan.’”I was like okay, cool, cool. But then Soph ruins it by commenting in the exposition like this:
”So, not her girlfriend, and she’s straight.”And I was just sitting there like bruhhhhhhhh,,,,,,,,, bi people exist too you know and it would have been nice to not having Soph make those comments. I thought that this could have been part of Soph’s character development, but it wasn’t. And that made me sad.
Now I’m going to talk about the trans rep and some issues I had with the way it was written, but I’m just going to go ahead and mark the entire section as spoilers (though all spoilers are minor). Trigger Warning for transphobia.
Another half thing that annoyed me was Soph’s blatant refusal to acknowledge that it isn’t safe for every person in the world to come out. One quote at the beginning reads,
”I wonder if Freddy’s gay. But he’s never said anything to anyone we know. I have no patience for the closet. If he’s gay, he should come out. Coming out is better for everyone.”This felt like a slap in the face, for many reasons that are probably too personal to include in a review, but mainly because Soph legit did not comprehend for 90 percent of the novel that it wasn’t safe or good for every person to be out of the closet. I say it’s a half thing, because this was a part of her character arc, but it still was really annoying and not fun to read for a big part of the novel.
To conclude, I just want to remind everyone that my opinions are taken from an uncorrected proof. When the finished product comes out, I will try to pick it up and see if some things are adjusted. This might still be a worthwhile read for you; however, I wouldn’t blame anyone for skipping this one. It’s your decision.
I was provided an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review. All opinions are taken from an uncorrected proof.
P.S. Got one more square on my #SapphicAThon bingo sheet completed! Made this one pink because this book is hella pink.
February 2, 2018
On the surface, this book is about a week-long writing retreat for high school girls and follows two girls from different worlds (the upper society and the rural farm-life) and beneath that...actually, there's just that.
I'm struggling with finding something good to say about this book.
I do want to note that the authors/publisher even include in the beginning of the book that the two girls Tess and Soph are 'unreliable narrators' and still.. I don't feel like that's a good enough excuse for this book.
There's so much going on in this story which I simply did not like, to the point that I started skimming around the 60% mark.
Throughout the entire book, a trans girl is frequently and deliberately misgendered. That in itself made this almost unbearable to read at times.
Besides that, the characters - especially our protagonists - had absolutely no personality whatsoever? Soph is a girl from a rich family and it's exactly the cliché you imagine. Tess is the stereotype of a girl growing up on a farm in the middle of nowhere? I just wanted more for both of them, some inner struggle or some actual goal they wanted to reach - because the ones they had felt like ones that were just randomly googled. Even worse was the "writing" they went to the retreat to improve. So, Tess writes fanfiction (which is looked down on by her peers) and Soph writes sophisticated poems in a rhyme scheme that read like my diary entries about my crush from second grade. Nope, I'm sadly not kidding. Literally nothing happens in Tess's excerpts except for traveling, more traveling..and okay, one or two interesting ones waayyyy too late in the book.
I feel like this book had a case of the too much - too little balance. There was too much cliché, too much stiffness to the dialogue. You could tell that this story was trying too hard to not sound didactic - and ending up reading just like that. The other part was the too little - we get too little development, too little personality, too little actual plot.
All in all, this book just missed the mark for me. While I do understand that transphobia is a very real thing, I don't feel like it needed to be written about in this toxic way.
That being said, I do want to applaud the publisher for including a trigger warning list because I think it's a really important staple that needs to be included in more books!
*I was provided with an eARC of this novel through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion, so thank you!*
I'm struggling with finding something good to say about this book.
I do want to note that the authors/publisher even include in the beginning of the book that the two girls Tess and Soph are 'unreliable narrators' and still.. I don't feel like that's a good enough excuse for this book.
There's so much going on in this story which I simply did not like, to the point that I started skimming around the 60% mark.
Throughout the entire book, a trans girl is frequently and deliberately misgendered. That in itself made this almost unbearable to read at times.
Besides that, the characters - especially our protagonists - had absolutely no personality whatsoever? Soph is a girl from a rich family and it's exactly the cliché you imagine. Tess is the stereotype of a girl growing up on a farm in the middle of nowhere? I just wanted more for both of them, some inner struggle or some actual goal they wanted to reach - because the ones they had felt like ones that were just randomly googled. Even worse was the "writing" they went to the retreat to improve. So, Tess writes fanfiction (which is looked down on by her peers) and Soph writes sophisticated poems in a rhyme scheme that read like my diary entries about my crush from second grade. Nope, I'm sadly not kidding. Literally nothing happens in Tess's excerpts except for traveling, more traveling..and okay, one or two interesting ones waayyyy too late in the book.
I feel like this book had a case of the too much - too little balance. There was too much cliché, too much stiffness to the dialogue. You could tell that this story was trying too hard to not sound didactic - and ending up reading just like that. The other part was the too little - we get too little development, too little personality, too little actual plot.
All in all, this book just missed the mark for me. While I do understand that transphobia is a very real thing, I don't feel like it needed to be written about in this toxic way.
That being said, I do want to applaud the publisher for including a trigger warning list because I think it's a really important staple that needs to be included in more books!
*I was provided with an eARC of this novel through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion, so thank you!*
June 26, 2018
Let’s start with the positive, shall we? I really liked how the book began with trigger warnings – I think that all books should start off like this, because it can be skipped by those who aren’t affected, and can be a huge benefit to those who are. So yay publishers!
The story follows two girls from two vastly different backgrounds. One a writer of fan fiction, and one a poet, and they have both been chosen to be on a writing conference for young women. Each chapter begins with a section from the fan fiction, and ends with a few lines of poetry. This was a really nice touch as you got a sense of their writing, even if the poetry wasn’t really for me.
Now, the LGBT+ representation – one of the girls was a lesbian, who at the beginning is a bit annoying because she can’t understand why people wouldn’t want to come out to everybody they know. Annoying, but she changes. So that’s good. And then there’s the trans character. (I am not trans, so please take all my critique with a grain of salt.) She is constantly misgendered by many of the other writers at the conference, which could be really triggering for trans readers. Not only that, but the misgendering and transphobia is not called out for quite some time – Tess in particular is given the opportunity to call out the antagonist, but chooses to be silent. And even once the antagonist has been called out, she is still given the benefit of the doubt, and given the chance to become friends with the other writers. This personally didn’t sit well with me. I understand what the authors were trying to do here, but I think it was executed poorly, as this character’s transphobic comments and actions have literally no consequences. The transgender girl’s pain seems to just be there to aid cis people’s learning, and I just didn’t like it.
Overall, I would not recommend this book.
The story follows two girls from two vastly different backgrounds. One a writer of fan fiction, and one a poet, and they have both been chosen to be on a writing conference for young women. Each chapter begins with a section from the fan fiction, and ends with a few lines of poetry. This was a really nice touch as you got a sense of their writing, even if the poetry wasn’t really for me.
Now, the LGBT+ representation – one of the girls was a lesbian, who at the beginning is a bit annoying because she can’t understand why people wouldn’t want to come out to everybody they know. Annoying, but she changes. So that’s good. And then there’s the trans character. (I am not trans, so please take all my critique with a grain of salt.) She is constantly misgendered by many of the other writers at the conference, which could be really triggering for trans readers. Not only that, but the misgendering and transphobia is not called out for quite some time – Tess in particular is given the opportunity to call out the antagonist, but chooses to be silent. And even once the antagonist has been called out, she is still given the benefit of the doubt, and given the chance to become friends with the other writers. This personally didn’t sit well with me. I understand what the authors were trying to do here, but I think it was executed poorly, as this character’s transphobic comments and actions have literally no consequences. The transgender girl’s pain seems to just be there to aid cis people’s learning, and I just didn’t like it.
Overall, I would not recommend this book.
February 14, 2018
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one. I understood what the authors were trying to do, but I think the novel shows a fundamental lack awareness about where conversations between teens are at today. This is my opinion, and I live in London which I think is relevant to say because maybe America is different, but I think teen conversations have moved past this?
Most of my discussion is pretty spoilery:
The romance itself was cute, and I loved the idea of two girls meeting at a writing camp! I wish it had just been that and that the transphobia and bully narrative had been left out entirely. Both Soph and Tess had their own issues that we never get to really explore.
Most of my discussion is pretty spoilery:
The romance itself was cute, and I loved the idea of two girls meeting at a writing camp! I wish it had just been that and that the transphobia and bully narrative had been left out entirely. Both Soph and Tess had their own issues that we never get to really explore.
February 15, 2018
*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*
Honestly when I first heard about the book I was thrilled. It sounded really good, and when the blurb and the cover were posted I was hocked. It was so good looking and the blurb really enchanted me.
Then I saw some reviews from a few early readers and worried deeply about their critique and feared the book wouldn’t be “good”, in fact I worried I would DNF it.
But because I try always to be fair, I read book by myself first before I judge them and then, when I got my ARC and had time to read read it I honestly was able to say: I really liked it.
Yes, I am fully aware of the controversy topic(s) the book contains, and if you read the book and in addition to it the guest post on my blog (see blog post) you know what I’m talking about: it’s the harsh treatment of a transgender side character, Orly, who is a target in a bully by another side character and within constantly misgendered by several characters.
The book is written in 1st person present tense, switching between Tess’ and Soph’s POV, and has with them what you call unreliable narrators. All those things are mentioned in the editor’s note in the preface of the book and the publisher’s website. I recommend to take the warnings really serious and read them before starting the book, to make yourself aware of what it means to have unreliable narrators, to have two girls who are exploring things for the first time. And have sometimes different opinions and the display of a behaviour by the characters some readers might find offensive or making them uncomfortable.
But honestly this is one of the strengths of the book in my opinion. Yes, the characters aren’t flawless, yes, they sometimes feel superior or if they know everything, especially Soph is learning the hard way what it means to be not the number one anymore. She has to deal with competition, has hard times to adjust as easy as she always think she is. She is a crowd puller, knows how to popularize, as a girl coming from the big city New York. She is popular and is genuine, she isn’t malice whereas she sometimes comes across as a bit naive, although she knows – or think she might does – a lot of things. Soph is a charming character, and I liked her very much, in fact in parts I saw myself in her.
But it’s clear from the start she is raised in a privileged manner; she is prosperous, means she has money and can get what (and whenever) she wants (it), is able to stand for herself – isn’t shy in showing this loud and clear – and hasn’t (mostly) to worry about things.
Different to her is Tess; the shy, timid girl who wears mostly pink clothes and is working hard on her parent’s dairy farm and knows what it means to worry about a lot of things: whether it is money or what it means to being not out in a homophobic town, which isn’t not only for her an important topic and definitely influences her.
When both girls met in the writing camp literally two worlds are colliding; and not only theirs.
What I loved about the book was the display of different shapes of friendship, what it means to fall in love for the first time and how toxic groups and the dynamics can be when problems occur and what it means to stand up for important things and how illusional people sometimes are in beliving they are doing something good, when in fact they aren’t flawless and maybe have a lot of privileges, even if their intentions are good. The book is sometimes heart clenching, heart breaking in the behaviour towards Orly, the transgender girl who has to deal with harassment by Chris, who is digging deep in trying to find information about her to make her uncomfortable in the group.
Next to these topics I loved the writing topic & the creating process behind. The writing camp was charming and the idea a delight. I had so much fun in reading the “technical” components of the writting and how the girls improved their writing. I also loved the individual stories, the different mediums they’ve used and what they mean to them. I had a great time in reading more into the metaphors & the similes, see behind the topics, the way how you can interpret their fictional works differently and which gave you an insight of the characters while reading.
Soph & Tess are really interesting yet definitely not flawless characters and I think the authors are definitely able to show this within the book.
All in all, despite the heavy, heart clenching topic, the unreliable narrators who made the book so – I won’t say entertaining because it doesn’t summarize my emotions properly – unique and in parts enriching I was hooked by it.
A book doesn’t need to “please” in all parts and definitely not all readers, and truly, this book has its problems, because of the characters and their behaviour, but honestly I could get a lot out of it and I really cherish this experience. 🙂 Therefore and because I was so fond of the writing camp topic and how sweet Soph and Tess were together and – even not flawless, but it makes them so human and charming – how they were shown individually I give the book 4 out of 5 stars. 🙂
Review originally posted on my blog with added content Mikku-chan / A world full of words
Honestly when I first heard about the book I was thrilled. It sounded really good, and when the blurb and the cover were posted I was hocked. It was so good looking and the blurb really enchanted me.
Then I saw some reviews from a few early readers and worried deeply about their critique and feared the book wouldn’t be “good”, in fact I worried I would DNF it.
But because I try always to be fair, I read book by myself first before I judge them and then, when I got my ARC and had time to read read it I honestly was able to say: I really liked it.
Yes, I am fully aware of the controversy topic(s) the book contains, and if you read the book and in addition to it the guest post on my blog (see blog post) you know what I’m talking about: it’s the harsh treatment of a transgender side character, Orly, who is a target in a bully by another side character and within constantly misgendered by several characters.
The book is written in 1st person present tense, switching between Tess’ and Soph’s POV, and has with them what you call unreliable narrators. All those things are mentioned in the editor’s note in the preface of the book and the publisher’s website. I recommend to take the warnings really serious and read them before starting the book, to make yourself aware of what it means to have unreliable narrators, to have two girls who are exploring things for the first time. And have sometimes different opinions and the display of a behaviour by the characters some readers might find offensive or making them uncomfortable.
But honestly this is one of the strengths of the book in my opinion. Yes, the characters aren’t flawless, yes, they sometimes feel superior or if they know everything, especially Soph is learning the hard way what it means to be not the number one anymore. She has to deal with competition, has hard times to adjust as easy as she always think she is. She is a crowd puller, knows how to popularize, as a girl coming from the big city New York. She is popular and is genuine, she isn’t malice whereas she sometimes comes across as a bit naive, although she knows – or think she might does – a lot of things. Soph is a charming character, and I liked her very much, in fact in parts I saw myself in her.
But it’s clear from the start she is raised in a privileged manner; she is prosperous, means she has money and can get what (and whenever) she wants (it), is able to stand for herself – isn’t shy in showing this loud and clear – and hasn’t (mostly) to worry about things.
Different to her is Tess; the shy, timid girl who wears mostly pink clothes and is working hard on her parent’s dairy farm and knows what it means to worry about a lot of things: whether it is money or what it means to being not out in a homophobic town, which isn’t not only for her an important topic and definitely influences her.
When both girls met in the writing camp literally two worlds are colliding; and not only theirs.
What I loved about the book was the display of different shapes of friendship, what it means to fall in love for the first time and how toxic groups and the dynamics can be when problems occur and what it means to stand up for important things and how illusional people sometimes are in beliving they are doing something good, when in fact they aren’t flawless and maybe have a lot of privileges, even if their intentions are good. The book is sometimes heart clenching, heart breaking in the behaviour towards Orly, the transgender girl who has to deal with harassment by Chris, who is digging deep in trying to find information about her to make her uncomfortable in the group.
Next to these topics I loved the writing topic & the creating process behind. The writing camp was charming and the idea a delight. I had so much fun in reading the “technical” components of the writting and how the girls improved their writing. I also loved the individual stories, the different mediums they’ve used and what they mean to them. I had a great time in reading more into the metaphors & the similes, see behind the topics, the way how you can interpret their fictional works differently and which gave you an insight of the characters while reading.
Soph & Tess are really interesting yet definitely not flawless characters and I think the authors are definitely able to show this within the book.
All in all, despite the heavy, heart clenching topic, the unreliable narrators who made the book so – I won’t say entertaining because it doesn’t summarize my emotions properly – unique and in parts enriching I was hooked by it.
A book doesn’t need to “please” in all parts and definitely not all readers, and truly, this book has its problems, because of the characters and their behaviour, but honestly I could get a lot out of it and I really cherish this experience. 🙂 Therefore and because I was so fond of the writing camp topic and how sweet Soph and Tess were together and – even not flawless, but it makes them so human and charming – how they were shown individually I give the book 4 out of 5 stars. 🙂
Review originally posted on my blog with added content Mikku-chan / A world full of words
March 22, 2019
This book does some things problematic, but also some things good.
The authors wrote about the differences between teenage girls who grew up in different places and made different experiences and have different world views, which is really great.
They also decided to work with the some heavy subjects like coming out vs staying closeted and transphobia.
I think the outcome of it is alright, but the path to it could have been written a tiny bit better and more comfortable, since it's still a YA book that teens will want to read for fun.
Every character in the story has strong opinions. Reading them fighting about their opinions and even reading about the ones not openly saying their opinion was pretty frustrating at times.
Especially the transphobia storyline is pretty rough. The constant misgendering was bad and I understand why some people wouldn't want to go on reading because it's uncomfortable.
I also understand why it needed to be written like that - in the end.
I'm always stuggling with books like this one because I see that it's important to write stories like that, so people can learn from them, but they can never really be 'a joy to read', so I have a hard time rating them.
The authors wrote about the differences between teenage girls who grew up in different places and made different experiences and have different world views, which is really great.
They also decided to work with the some heavy subjects like coming out vs staying closeted and transphobia.
I think the outcome of it is alright, but the path to it could have been written a tiny bit better and more comfortable, since it's still a YA book that teens will want to read for fun.
Every character in the story has strong opinions. Reading them fighting about their opinions and even reading about the ones not openly saying their opinion was pretty frustrating at times.
Especially the transphobia storyline is pretty rough. The constant misgendering was bad and I understand why some people wouldn't want to go on reading because it's uncomfortable.
I also understand why it needed to be written like that - in the end.
I'm always stuggling with books like this one because I see that it's important to write stories like that, so people can learn from them, but they can never really be 'a joy to read', so I have a hard time rating them.
March 7, 2018
This is a must-read for all high schoolers everywhere.
Snowsisters is one of those books that sticks with you. The depiction of teenage girls at a youth writer’s retreat reminded me of an experience I had my freshman year, and sent me back to that awful, beautiful time of life when we were figuring ourselves out, and I had no fucking clue how to relate to the rest of the world.City girl Soph spends most of her inner life trying to figure out how to impress someone she doesn’t really even care about, while farm girl Tess has a secret she knows can’t get out at home in order to protect her best friend. In the process of getting to know each other and the other girls at the writer’s conference, they encounter homophobia, transphobia, and they learn to navigate their differences to build a stronger connection before they have to go home.
Snowsisters is one of those books that sticks with you. The depiction of teenage girls at a youth writer’s retreat reminded me of an experience I had my freshman year, and sent me back to that awful, beautiful time of life when we were figuring ourselves out, and I had no fucking clue how to relate to the rest of the world.City girl Soph spends most of her inner life trying to figure out how to impress someone she doesn’t really even care about, while farm girl Tess has a secret she knows can’t get out at home in order to protect her best friend. In the process of getting to know each other and the other girls at the writer’s conference, they encounter homophobia, transphobia, and they learn to navigate their differences to build a stronger connection before they have to go home.
January 16, 2018
This debut novel is beautifully and sensitively written. The characters are believable and likable and the relationships genuine and touching. Highly recommend.
December 5, 2018
Oh, do I have a bone to pick with this one...
I originally picked this up because I thought it'd be a light, enchanting book to read as part of my holiday-themed reading month. (You know, snow? Eh, eh? *nudgenudge) I went in thinking this would be a fluffy, happy book, but unfortunately it had the opposite effect because this book filled me with rage from beginning to end.
I'll admit, I didn't know a whole lot going into this book—only that it's about two girls who forge a friendship at a women's writing conference in the wintertime. Wholesome, right? Wrong, because one of the girls at this conference is trans, and the entire plot revolves around this poor girl facing severe transphobia through the entirety of the book, and it's both infuriating and agonizing to read. I will say this: there is a page at the start of the book indicating trigger warnings, and everything is challenged on the page. HOWEVER, I still have a huge problem with the transphobia in this book, with the primary character in the book who is the source of the targeted hatred and bigotry, and how this is all ultimately addressed in the novel.
So let me set the stage: the two main characters, Soph and Tess, meet as roommates at the writing conference. They meet with the other girls at this conference, get to know one another, and before long they discover that one of the girls, Chris, has a personal, deep-seated vendetta against another girl Orley, who is trans. And this is where everything becomes a shit show.
Okay, Chris is actually the most miserable, spiteful piece of shit ever and deserves her own section
She starts right out of the gate being hateful and obnoxious. When everyone in the conference is introducing each other, Chris is immediately self-righteous, stating that she's a journalist as well as a feminist, determined to stand up for women's rights and their safety and fight against those who undermine it, making it very clear that she's talking about Orley, who she apparently makes her feel unsafe...SO "unsafe" that throughout the novel Chris takes great lengths in telling all the other girls at the conference that Orley is "really a guy," and glares at her, making snide comments at her at every chance she gets. (Oh, but Orley is the one who makes HER feel unsafe?)
Her hostility toward Orley is instantly very obsessive and interrogative, of course because she’s a hard-hitting “journalist” (gag) and later declares to the other girls that she’s going to write an article about what she’s witnessing at this women’s conference and submit it to feminist blogs to expose the conference for what it is. First of all, this is just laughable, and if she were to really submit that to feminist blogs, guarantee they would all respond back calling her out for being transphobic. But LOL OKAY, way to call yourself a true "feminist."
Secondly, it drove me insane throughout the novel that she repeatedly used the excuse of being a "journalist" to justify her transphobia, because she's passionate about getting to the bottom of things and finding the facts...and used this as motivation to continue to antagonize Orley. It's especially infuriating when it's clear that it's no longer about "journalism" and quickly escalates to flat-out ridicule and bullying. At one point when all the girls are making snowmen or "snowsisters," Chris takes the carrot off of Orley's snowsister and places it lower so that it looks like a penis. Yes, excellent conductive journalism. Also, REALLY? ARE YOU FIVE?
Throughout the rest of the novel, Chris REFUSES to believe that she's doing anything wrong, because it's wrong that she has to room with a guy and she needs to get down to the truth of why Orley thinks "he's" a girl, according to her, because apparently that's more hard-hitting journalism than, y'know, actually being open to listen to someone and respect their identity and their pronouns. Even no matter how many times people correct her and tell her Orley IS a girl—even Orley herself!—nothing gets through to her. At one point when Orley tries to express her feelings as a transwoman through poetry to everyone, Chris just walks out of the room and says "I don't need to be poetry shamed in front of everyone."
Leave it to Chris to make it all about her. Never mind the fact that she's the one who's causing all the hostility and bullying this person who so far has still done NOTHING to her besides purely existing. Chris still makes it about her own "safety" and being shamed and singled out by others and later on crying when a peer advisor confronts her about her behavior and tells her that what she's doing is wrong. Like, really? You're CRYING? Oh poor Chris, this must be so hard on YOU. 🙄 Can't even imagine what it's like for this other girl who's life you haven't stopped making into a living hell since you met her. Like, literally NO. You do not get to cry for being a bigoted, hateful human being because no one else will join in with you. (Did I mention how much I hate this character!?)
The worst part about this highly transphobic character, though, is that throughout the novel one of the main characters, Tess, sways between showing indifference to Chris rather than standing up to Orley (because it's not her place and she doesn't want to get involved. Pfft) and at times even sympathizing with her and trying to make her feel included. Despite the fact that Chris is incredibly hateful toward Orley and tries her hardest to make her feel excluded. Like, really? You wouldn't sympathize with someone who was being racist, so how should this be any different? That's also giving that bigoted person the benefit of the doubt, giving them reassurance that their behavior is being tolerated and that at least one person will stick up for them. I get that this novel was trying to take a different approach and bridge the gap between people with different viewpoints, but Chris's behavior is a whole other level than just "I don't understand your identity." I'm sorry, but if someone is being actively hateful and prejudiced against another person, that person has immediately lost the right to feeling more included in the group. None of this "we all have different beliefs and need to get along regardless" bullshit, because trans peoples' existence is not up for debate, and being hateful toward trans people is not something that deserves to be chalked up to just "having different opinions," and respecting them.
Oh, and the topper: the conflict never truly ends up getting resolved? Like, it basically ends with Chris and Orley being put in a room together, Orley saying her final piece and putting Chris in her place, and Chris still being a pretty awful person—and still making it about her—and then it sort of just fizzles out and that's the end? There's the beginning of hope for Chris as she admits she's been researching about trans people (literally why couldn't you do that from the beginning?? That could've solved ALL your problems and concerns you held. Shows what a great journalist you are...) but she's still very imperfect and obviously has a long way to go. After what transpired throughout the whole novel, I was at least expecting a stronger resolution... but nope! We get Chris's half-assed apology and vague sense of character growth. Cool, glad I endured all that bullying and childish behavior for that!
Okay, so leaving the whole Chris the Transphobe behind (and erasing it permanently from my memory, I beg you), that's surprisingly not the only aspect of this novel where characters are less than perfect on the LGBTQ front. Take Soph for example. She's very out and gay...and yet she's also somehow the most oblivious lesbian ever??
- It's laughable how naive Soph is a lot of the time. When Tess tells her how Joey got his jaw broken for being gay, Soph says, "Tess, he needs to tell someone. It's against the law to hit someone." (LMAO)
- Also can we discuss how Soph is supposedly this super out and proud lesbian yet she doesn't know the fucking basics of coming out? Soph is adamant throughout the novel that it would be much better for everyone to be out and she has a seriously hard time grasping why some people would choose not to come out yet. Like, is she really so clueless that she can't possibly understand that not all places across the country are safe places to be out and gay? Or even that coming out is an incredibly personal decision that only that person can make for themselves? Seriously, how is she gay and also this dumb!
Ultimately, what I get out of this book and what it very much reads like is almost a Teachable Novel on how to be a good LGBTQ ally. To the point where a lot of the writing and the characters put in place feel stilted and unnatural, like they're more or less there just as a formula to create this overarching novel of various LGBTQ issues that are honestly very basic concepts and that I would think people in 2018 would already know. I'm also at this point where I no longer need "teachable" LGBT books.
Yes, I know that blatant transphobia and ignorance exists in the world—that doesn't mean I want a book full of it just so that I can reach the end and have the characters somewhat experience growth and learn their lesson. Those types of stories are no longer nearly as fulfilling as the ones where characters already come equipped with common sense and unwavering respect and support for others. In this way, this book feels immensely lacking and honestly pretty behind in its time. Especially since the transphobic plot line took up a large portion of this book, only for it to reach a very flimsy, not well deserved resolution, this is what made me lose the remaining respect I had for this book and ultimately led me to lower my rating to one star.
Other things:
- Dialogue isn't always the best.
- The writing has moments of being weak as well, like random exclamation marks and reading as somewhat stilted.
- For how central of a character Orley is, I feel like I don't truly know her character at all...which is a shame because I want to love Orley! But she just reads as flat and one-dimensional, not quite a fully fleshed out character.
- I didn't see it coming at all when Tess kissed Soph, because truthfully? I didn't sense any chemistry between them AT ALL. Like, not even a hint of, "Hm, this could happen." And not in a good way either? Like, it wasn't a good surprise, but more like a, "Wha--oh?? Huh??" I needed there to be at least some subtext of romantic tension and Tess being gay.
I originally picked this up because I thought it'd be a light, enchanting book to read as part of my holiday-themed reading month. (You know, snow? Eh, eh? *nudgenudge) I went in thinking this would be a fluffy, happy book, but unfortunately it had the opposite effect because this book filled me with rage from beginning to end.
I'll admit, I didn't know a whole lot going into this book—only that it's about two girls who forge a friendship at a women's writing conference in the wintertime. Wholesome, right? Wrong, because one of the girls at this conference is trans, and the entire plot revolves around this poor girl facing severe transphobia through the entirety of the book, and it's both infuriating and agonizing to read. I will say this: there is a page at the start of the book indicating trigger warnings, and everything is challenged on the page. HOWEVER, I still have a huge problem with the transphobia in this book, with the primary character in the book who is the source of the targeted hatred and bigotry, and how this is all ultimately addressed in the novel.
So let me set the stage: the two main characters, Soph and Tess, meet as roommates at the writing conference. They meet with the other girls at this conference, get to know one another, and before long they discover that one of the girls, Chris, has a personal, deep-seated vendetta against another girl Orley, who is trans. And this is where everything becomes a shit show.
Okay, Chris is actually the most miserable, spiteful piece of shit ever and deserves her own section
She starts right out of the gate being hateful and obnoxious. When everyone in the conference is introducing each other, Chris is immediately self-righteous, stating that she's a journalist as well as a feminist, determined to stand up for women's rights and their safety and fight against those who undermine it, making it very clear that she's talking about Orley, who she apparently makes her feel unsafe...SO "unsafe" that throughout the novel Chris takes great lengths in telling all the other girls at the conference that Orley is "really a guy," and glares at her, making snide comments at her at every chance she gets. (Oh, but Orley is the one who makes HER feel unsafe?)
Her hostility toward Orley is instantly very obsessive and interrogative, of course because she’s a hard-hitting “journalist” (gag) and later declares to the other girls that she’s going to write an article about what she’s witnessing at this women’s conference and submit it to feminist blogs to expose the conference for what it is. First of all, this is just laughable, and if she were to really submit that to feminist blogs, guarantee they would all respond back calling her out for being transphobic. But LOL OKAY, way to call yourself a true "feminist."
Secondly, it drove me insane throughout the novel that she repeatedly used the excuse of being a "journalist" to justify her transphobia, because she's passionate about getting to the bottom of things and finding the facts...and used this as motivation to continue to antagonize Orley. It's especially infuriating when it's clear that it's no longer about "journalism" and quickly escalates to flat-out ridicule and bullying. At one point when all the girls are making snowmen or "snowsisters," Chris takes the carrot off of Orley's snowsister and places it lower so that it looks like a penis. Yes, excellent conductive journalism. Also, REALLY? ARE YOU FIVE?
Throughout the rest of the novel, Chris REFUSES to believe that she's doing anything wrong, because it's wrong that she has to room with a guy and she needs to get down to the truth of why Orley thinks "he's" a girl, according to her, because apparently that's more hard-hitting journalism than, y'know, actually being open to listen to someone and respect their identity and their pronouns. Even no matter how many times people correct her and tell her Orley IS a girl—even Orley herself!—nothing gets through to her. At one point when Orley tries to express her feelings as a transwoman through poetry to everyone, Chris just walks out of the room and says "I don't need to be poetry shamed in front of everyone."
Leave it to Chris to make it all about her. Never mind the fact that she's the one who's causing all the hostility and bullying this person who so far has still done NOTHING to her besides purely existing. Chris still makes it about her own "safety" and being shamed and singled out by others and later on crying when a peer advisor confronts her about her behavior and tells her that what she's doing is wrong. Like, really? You're CRYING? Oh poor Chris, this must be so hard on YOU. 🙄 Can't even imagine what it's like for this other girl who's life you haven't stopped making into a living hell since you met her. Like, literally NO. You do not get to cry for being a bigoted, hateful human being because no one else will join in with you. (Did I mention how much I hate this character!?)
The worst part about this highly transphobic character, though, is that throughout the novel one of the main characters, Tess, sways between showing indifference to Chris rather than standing up to Orley (because it's not her place and she doesn't want to get involved. Pfft) and at times even sympathizing with her and trying to make her feel included. Despite the fact that Chris is incredibly hateful toward Orley and tries her hardest to make her feel excluded. Like, really? You wouldn't sympathize with someone who was being racist, so how should this be any different? That's also giving that bigoted person the benefit of the doubt, giving them reassurance that their behavior is being tolerated and that at least one person will stick up for them. I get that this novel was trying to take a different approach and bridge the gap between people with different viewpoints, but Chris's behavior is a whole other level than just "I don't understand your identity." I'm sorry, but if someone is being actively hateful and prejudiced against another person, that person has immediately lost the right to feeling more included in the group. None of this "we all have different beliefs and need to get along regardless" bullshit, because trans peoples' existence is not up for debate, and being hateful toward trans people is not something that deserves to be chalked up to just "having different opinions," and respecting them.
Oh, and the topper: the conflict never truly ends up getting resolved? Like, it basically ends with Chris and Orley being put in a room together, Orley saying her final piece and putting Chris in her place, and Chris still being a pretty awful person—and still making it about her—and then it sort of just fizzles out and that's the end? There's the beginning of hope for Chris as she admits she's been researching about trans people (literally why couldn't you do that from the beginning?? That could've solved ALL your problems and concerns you held. Shows what a great journalist you are...) but she's still very imperfect and obviously has a long way to go. After what transpired throughout the whole novel, I was at least expecting a stronger resolution... but nope! We get Chris's half-assed apology and vague sense of character growth. Cool, glad I endured all that bullying and childish behavior for that!
Okay, so leaving the whole Chris the Transphobe behind (and erasing it permanently from my memory, I beg you), that's surprisingly not the only aspect of this novel where characters are less than perfect on the LGBTQ front. Take Soph for example. She's very out and gay...and yet she's also somehow the most oblivious lesbian ever??
- It's laughable how naive Soph is a lot of the time. When Tess tells her how Joey got his jaw broken for being gay, Soph says, "Tess, he needs to tell someone. It's against the law to hit someone." (LMAO)
- Also can we discuss how Soph is supposedly this super out and proud lesbian yet she doesn't know the fucking basics of coming out? Soph is adamant throughout the novel that it would be much better for everyone to be out and she has a seriously hard time grasping why some people would choose not to come out yet. Like, is she really so clueless that she can't possibly understand that not all places across the country are safe places to be out and gay? Or even that coming out is an incredibly personal decision that only that person can make for themselves? Seriously, how is she gay and also this dumb!
Ultimately, what I get out of this book and what it very much reads like is almost a Teachable Novel on how to be a good LGBTQ ally. To the point where a lot of the writing and the characters put in place feel stilted and unnatural, like they're more or less there just as a formula to create this overarching novel of various LGBTQ issues that are honestly very basic concepts and that I would think people in 2018 would already know. I'm also at this point where I no longer need "teachable" LGBT books.
Yes, I know that blatant transphobia and ignorance exists in the world—that doesn't mean I want a book full of it just so that I can reach the end and have the characters somewhat experience growth and learn their lesson. Those types of stories are no longer nearly as fulfilling as the ones where characters already come equipped with common sense and unwavering respect and support for others. In this way, this book feels immensely lacking and honestly pretty behind in its time. Especially since the transphobic plot line took up a large portion of this book, only for it to reach a very flimsy, not well deserved resolution, this is what made me lose the remaining respect I had for this book and ultimately led me to lower my rating to one star.
Other things:
- Dialogue isn't always the best.
- The writing has moments of being weak as well, like random exclamation marks and reading as somewhat stilted.
- For how central of a character Orley is, I feel like I don't truly know her character at all...which is a shame because I want to love Orley! But she just reads as flat and one-dimensional, not quite a fully fleshed out character.
- I didn't see it coming at all when Tess kissed Soph, because truthfully? I didn't sense any chemistry between them AT ALL. Like, not even a hint of, "Hm, this could happen." And not in a good way either? Like, it wasn't a good surprise, but more like a, "Wha--oh?? Huh??" I needed there to be at least some subtext of romantic tension and Tess being gay.
no-thank-you
February 19, 2018I am seeing plenty of reviews that call out an incident of bi erasure and also terrible treatment of the trans character - while none of that may be author endorsed, it's not something I need to spend my entertainment time reading.
May 18, 2020
what a pleasant surprise. this was not at all what I expected. very well done Tom.
June 20, 2018
This book reminded me of another story called 'Future Leaders of Nowhere' by Emily O'Beirne. Much like that story, this one involves an alternating narrative between two girls, who are going to a writing retreat. And like 'Future Leaders of Nowhere', what it means to be a leader in a group of people that are very different is a fundamental question that drives the meat of the story.
I liked the differences between Soph and Tess as characters. One is from New York, and the other from a more conservative country town. At times the story leans a little too heavily on "the city girl doesn't understand life elsewhere" and "the country girl is baffled by city lifestyles" but I get it and it was effective at times.
Soph's focus on writing involved poetry, which I admit, is something that's never really connected with me. I can read it, but I don't like writing it and it doesn't always really make a lot of sense to me - my brain just doesn't work that way. I had trouble connecting to her works of poetry and verse throughout the story, but there were times where it brought a smile to my face and was used to good effect. In contrast, I rather liked Tess's focus on writing fanfiction, and the debate of whether or not it's a valid form of writing (I tend to fall on the camp that says that it is valid, if not publishable. I've read some great fanfics over the years, some of which that were better than published books I've come across - but I digress.)
We get to know Soph and Tess fairly well throughout the story. The other girls get a fair amount of focus, but the main focus is on these two, and the antagonistic Chris - more about Chris later.
I liked their interactions and slowly blossoming friendship. It was fun to see them warm up to each other, and the small things that brought them closer together. I like the idea of a writing retreat, and it's a clever framing device for the story.
Now, about Chris - I didn't much like her character, for obvious reasons. She's transphobic from the get go and refuses to cooperate with others on her projects. She's obviously written to be a disliked character. But she's not necessarily an unrealistic one. And I thought what Tess did was an interesting way to approach the concept of a transphobic character. Spoilers ahead.
I'd say my biggest complaint about the story was that the staff themselves were kind of distant and felt irrelevant to the story. The main professor - I thought we'd be getting some kind of revelation about her and her teaching methods - why is she close to some students and distant to others? Why was she cold to Soph at first without explaining why she was cold? There just wasn't much there, and the same is true for the other instructors. I felt like they could and should have been combined into a singular character that would teach the lot of them. Cut down on the total cast if need be - a lot of the side characters were pushed to the side enough that they felt a little unnecessary. I also thought the frequent text interludes were a little overbearing. One of the things I liked about 'Future Leaders of Nowhere' is that they were effectively cut off from their cell phones, putting the focus entirely on the two characters and the situation they were in. The side characters got more chances to shine in that story as a result.
The lack of focus doesn't take away from the fact that I did enjoy getting to know the two characters, and I thought the ending was particularly sweet. I don't often get endings that feel complete and satisfactory in this genre, but this one managed to pull it off in a nice way.
Will you like this book? There's a lot of other reviews that gave one star or said DNF. And they have their reasons for doing so. Look into the book and the reviews a bit and decide for yourself on whether or not you'll like the subject matter before going in.
I liked the differences between Soph and Tess as characters. One is from New York, and the other from a more conservative country town. At times the story leans a little too heavily on "the city girl doesn't understand life elsewhere" and "the country girl is baffled by city lifestyles" but I get it and it was effective at times.
Soph's focus on writing involved poetry, which I admit, is something that's never really connected with me. I can read it, but I don't like writing it and it doesn't always really make a lot of sense to me - my brain just doesn't work that way. I had trouble connecting to her works of poetry and verse throughout the story, but there were times where it brought a smile to my face and was used to good effect. In contrast, I rather liked Tess's focus on writing fanfiction, and the debate of whether or not it's a valid form of writing (I tend to fall on the camp that says that it is valid, if not publishable. I've read some great fanfics over the years, some of which that were better than published books I've come across - but I digress.)
We get to know Soph and Tess fairly well throughout the story. The other girls get a fair amount of focus, but the main focus is on these two, and the antagonistic Chris - more about Chris later.
I liked their interactions and slowly blossoming friendship. It was fun to see them warm up to each other, and the small things that brought them closer together. I like the idea of a writing retreat, and it's a clever framing device for the story.
Now, about Chris - I didn't much like her character, for obvious reasons. She's transphobic from the get go and refuses to cooperate with others on her projects. She's obviously written to be a disliked character. But she's not necessarily an unrealistic one. And I thought what Tess did was an interesting way to approach the concept of a transphobic character. Spoilers ahead.
I'd say my biggest complaint about the story was that the staff themselves were kind of distant and felt irrelevant to the story. The main professor - I thought we'd be getting some kind of revelation about her and her teaching methods - why is she close to some students and distant to others? Why was she cold to Soph at first without explaining why she was cold? There just wasn't much there, and the same is true for the other instructors. I felt like they could and should have been combined into a singular character that would teach the lot of them. Cut down on the total cast if need be - a lot of the side characters were pushed to the side enough that they felt a little unnecessary. I also thought the frequent text interludes were a little overbearing. One of the things I liked about 'Future Leaders of Nowhere' is that they were effectively cut off from their cell phones, putting the focus entirely on the two characters and the situation they were in. The side characters got more chances to shine in that story as a result.
The lack of focus doesn't take away from the fact that I did enjoy getting to know the two characters, and I thought the ending was particularly sweet. I don't often get endings that feel complete and satisfactory in this genre, but this one managed to pull it off in a nice way.
Will you like this book? There's a lot of other reviews that gave one star or said DNF. And they have their reasons for doing so. Look into the book and the reviews a bit and decide for yourself on whether or not you'll like the subject matter before going in.
February 7, 2018
Tess is thrilled when she learns that her application to attend the Young Women's Writing Conference has been accepted. Tess's life on a dairy farm in a small town in New Hampshire is a far cry from the life led by fellow conference attendee Sophonia. Soph leads a life of privilege and luxury in New York City. In fact, her parents are some sort of exiled European royalty.
The two young women are almost complete opposites in every way. Tess is straight. Soph is gay. Tess writes anonymous Fan Fiction online and Soph writes rhyming poetry. Tess is an introvert and extremely shy. Soph is an extrovert who is a social butterfly. Tess plans to go into the army while Soph is applying to the prestigious Minerva College.
So, when these two girls are thrown together as roommates, neither one is sure of how to befriend the other, but both are determined to try.
Meanwhile, next door to their room are Chris and Orly. The tension between them is thick enough to cut with a knife. Chris fancies herself a feminist and a journalist, while Orly is planning to write a memoir about growing up in a small town. Chris may believe she is a feminist, but she is NOT. Orly is a trans girl which would not bother any true feminist, but Chris constantly refers to as her as "him." She wants Orly banned from the retreat and her prejudice and discrimination are horrible.
How in the world are these young women all supposed to get along?
I have read some reviews of SNOWSISTERS in which people are upset by the inclusion of misgendering and discrimination in this story. However, it is the character they should be upset with, NOT the authors. This behaviour was included in the story because, unfortunately, there are still many people in the world that act just like Chris (or worse) when it comes to trans people. It is necessary to inform readers of the existence of this type of prejudice so that we can do everything possible to eradicate it. Tess says it best when talking to Soph: "It's-it's a hard world, Soph. It's hard for everyone in different ways."
As the Writing Conference progresses, so does the bonding between the attendees. Not only do they learn to improve their writing, they also improve their relationships and some form bonds that may last a lifetime.
This book is a glimpse into the lives of young women struggling with their identities and trying to decide what they want for their future. This applies to every teenager, whether gay or straight. They all need to find their place in the world and to do so while dealing with the massive changes in their bodies and minds that comes with adolescence.
The only issue I had with this story was with Soph's diary entries. They are written in short verse and they seem very juvenile to me and as if they were written by a younger person. They definitely do not seem like they would have been good enough to gain her admittance to an elite writing workshop. Here is just one example of Soph's diary entries:
"A powerless night with
three turns messy.
I'm surprised what comes
out with Hennessy."
I believe that more books discussing being gay, trans, or pan and about coming out are necessary, but I look forward to the day when they are no longer needed. #WeNeedMoreDiverseBooks
I rate SNOWSISTERS as 4 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NETGALLEY for providing me with a free copy of this book.
To read more of my reviews and to enter Amazing Giveaways, visit my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
Follow me on Instagram @Amiesbookreviews
The two young women are almost complete opposites in every way. Tess is straight. Soph is gay. Tess writes anonymous Fan Fiction online and Soph writes rhyming poetry. Tess is an introvert and extremely shy. Soph is an extrovert who is a social butterfly. Tess plans to go into the army while Soph is applying to the prestigious Minerva College.
So, when these two girls are thrown together as roommates, neither one is sure of how to befriend the other, but both are determined to try.
Meanwhile, next door to their room are Chris and Orly. The tension between them is thick enough to cut with a knife. Chris fancies herself a feminist and a journalist, while Orly is planning to write a memoir about growing up in a small town. Chris may believe she is a feminist, but she is NOT. Orly is a trans girl which would not bother any true feminist, but Chris constantly refers to as her as "him." She wants Orly banned from the retreat and her prejudice and discrimination are horrible.
How in the world are these young women all supposed to get along?
I have read some reviews of SNOWSISTERS in which people are upset by the inclusion of misgendering and discrimination in this story. However, it is the character they should be upset with, NOT the authors. This behaviour was included in the story because, unfortunately, there are still many people in the world that act just like Chris (or worse) when it comes to trans people. It is necessary to inform readers of the existence of this type of prejudice so that we can do everything possible to eradicate it. Tess says it best when talking to Soph: "It's-it's a hard world, Soph. It's hard for everyone in different ways."
As the Writing Conference progresses, so does the bonding between the attendees. Not only do they learn to improve their writing, they also improve their relationships and some form bonds that may last a lifetime.
This book is a glimpse into the lives of young women struggling with their identities and trying to decide what they want for their future. This applies to every teenager, whether gay or straight. They all need to find their place in the world and to do so while dealing with the massive changes in their bodies and minds that comes with adolescence.
The only issue I had with this story was with Soph's diary entries. They are written in short verse and they seem very juvenile to me and as if they were written by a younger person. They definitely do not seem like they would have been good enough to gain her admittance to an elite writing workshop. Here is just one example of Soph's diary entries:
"A powerless night with
three turns messy.
I'm surprised what comes
out with Hennessy."
I believe that more books discussing being gay, trans, or pan and about coming out are necessary, but I look forward to the day when they are no longer needed. #WeNeedMoreDiverseBooks
I rate SNOWSISTERS as 4 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NETGALLEY for providing me with a free copy of this book.
To read more of my reviews and to enter Amazing Giveaways, visit my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
Follow me on Instagram @Amiesbookreviews
October 29, 2018
At first glance, this novel appears a simple coming of age story at a Young Women's Writing Conference in a fictional New Hampshire town. Despite the simple storyline, the novel goes beyond usual teenage angst and sexual orientation. A transgender girl increases the novel's complexity that makes landing on the moon look like setting off firecrackers.
I needed a few chapters to identify with the two main protagonists, Tess and Soph. I vacillated between whose points of view seemed more reliable—a warning provided by the authors at the outset about the unreliability of some characters, but not identified. At first, I thought Tess the more trustworthy narrator, probably through her working-class maturity. Yet Sophia “Soph” has a broader world perspective—international travels and cosmopolitan New Yorker. But her vision tunneled by privilege.
The transgender blew open the story. At first, I couldn’t connect to Chris’s strong adverse reaction to being assigned to room with Orly. Even Chris’ borderline “violent action” with an incident surrounding a carrot. Transgender, unlike, Gay or Lesbian, is less common and notoriety restricted to sensationalized news stories; probably the hardest sexual orientation for most people given the paucity of information; and explains the difficulty to empathize.
Snowsisters conveys emotional reactions of teenagers to something most people have no direct experience. Everyone has a friend or family member or a co-worker that is gay, which makes it possible to relate. Few have transgender friends. I can only count one. Which explains why Orly is an anomaly to the young women's writer's workshop. And explains her secretive assimilation into the group—and of course vilified by her roommate, Chris. In fact, I found Chris’s reaction a little forced but I'm not a teenager in today's world.
The book's explores Chris's actions toward Orly and the reactions by the other young women. In a way this reduced Tess's struggle to reveal being a lesbian Orly's transgender revelation grabbed my attention. As for the lesbian component, I gravitated to Soph more than Tess.
The novel exposes a reader's self-evaluation as much as the protagonist. This is an ideal book for group discussion, especially among teenagers. I'd even liked to see a non-fiction book that reports those discussions. I’m sure Wilinsky and Sternick would agree Snowsisters is not the last word. I believe the novel narrows the knowledge gap. Transgender requires further revelation through books, movies, plays, and the recounting personal experiences without the media hyperbole.
My main negative point comes from Tess’s obtuse fantasy fiction unless you like the genre. Soph’s pellucid poetry at times goes on too long. I was reminded of a young A.S, Byatt and her insistence on glutting “Possession” with her poems, which many people skip. (Okay, it didn't do harm her book sales or diminish the accolades.) Yet Soph’s poetry, like Tess’s fantasy pieces impeded revelation of the bigger issue, Luckily these small irritations can be ignored as they are small introductions to Tess and Soph’s diaries.
I’m not sure I can say this book has a “happy-ever-after” ending. Snowsisters reveals how core values may be assaulted when least expected and least prepared. The underlying message is that to safeguard rights requires constant vigilance or else the errors and horrors of history loom.
I needed a few chapters to identify with the two main protagonists, Tess and Soph. I vacillated between whose points of view seemed more reliable—a warning provided by the authors at the outset about the unreliability of some characters, but not identified. At first, I thought Tess the more trustworthy narrator, probably through her working-class maturity. Yet Sophia “Soph” has a broader world perspective—international travels and cosmopolitan New Yorker. But her vision tunneled by privilege.
The transgender blew open the story. At first, I couldn’t connect to Chris’s strong adverse reaction to being assigned to room with Orly. Even Chris’ borderline “violent action” with an incident surrounding a carrot. Transgender, unlike, Gay or Lesbian, is less common and notoriety restricted to sensationalized news stories; probably the hardest sexual orientation for most people given the paucity of information; and explains the difficulty to empathize.
Snowsisters conveys emotional reactions of teenagers to something most people have no direct experience. Everyone has a friend or family member or a co-worker that is gay, which makes it possible to relate. Few have transgender friends. I can only count one. Which explains why Orly is an anomaly to the young women's writer's workshop. And explains her secretive assimilation into the group—and of course vilified by her roommate, Chris. In fact, I found Chris’s reaction a little forced but I'm not a teenager in today's world.
The book's explores Chris's actions toward Orly and the reactions by the other young women. In a way this reduced Tess's struggle to reveal being a lesbian Orly's transgender revelation grabbed my attention. As for the lesbian component, I gravitated to Soph more than Tess.
The novel exposes a reader's self-evaluation as much as the protagonist. This is an ideal book for group discussion, especially among teenagers. I'd even liked to see a non-fiction book that reports those discussions. I’m sure Wilinsky and Sternick would agree Snowsisters is not the last word. I believe the novel narrows the knowledge gap. Transgender requires further revelation through books, movies, plays, and the recounting personal experiences without the media hyperbole.
My main negative point comes from Tess’s obtuse fantasy fiction unless you like the genre. Soph’s pellucid poetry at times goes on too long. I was reminded of a young A.S, Byatt and her insistence on glutting “Possession” with her poems, which many people skip. (Okay, it didn't do harm her book sales or diminish the accolades.) Yet Soph’s poetry, like Tess’s fantasy pieces impeded revelation of the bigger issue, Luckily these small irritations can be ignored as they are small introductions to Tess and Soph’s diaries.
I’m not sure I can say this book has a “happy-ever-after” ending. Snowsisters reveals how core values may be assaulted when least expected and least prepared. The underlying message is that to safeguard rights requires constant vigilance or else the errors and horrors of history loom.
April 1, 2018
Wilinsky, Tom. Snowsisters. Duet, 2018.
Soph is a rich New Yorker. Tess is from a farm in New Hampshire. The teens room together at a writing conference and together learn more about each others' worlds.
TW: transphobia, homophobia, bullying, misgendering, etc.
Soph and Tess are rooming next to two other girls - Orly and Chris. Chris wants to be an investigative journalist, and when she discovers that Orly is transgender, she decides to investigate; i.e., she digs through Orly's things and spreads rumors to the other girls, trying to turn them against Orly. Never once does she speak with one of the event coordinators or instructors about her problem. This culminates in Chris moving the carrot nose from a snow person to turn it into a carrot penis. There isn't much resolution of this issue; there is an attempt at some sort of restorative justice with Chris and Orly, but as it appears in the last few pages of the book, it mostly falls flat.
The story of Soph and Tess - without the subplot of Orly and Chris - is fine. Soph and Tess come from very different worlds and get to learn about each other through the conference. This plot alone would have made this book fine. However, I take real issue with the transphobia throughout the book. Chris consistently misgenders Orly and is only halfheartedly corrected by some of the other girls. Chris's "come to Jesus" moment at the end does not end with her actually apologizing to Orly; she simply is bothered that no one "warned" her that she was going to have a transgender roommate. The reader is supposed to begin to feel sorry for Chris and this terrible position she was put in, when in fact Chris is the one in a position of power throughout the entire story. I can't in good conscience recommend this book to transgender teen readers. They deserve better.
Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: transphobia, homophobia (a side character was punched in the face by his father when he came out), misgendering, etc.
Overall Rating: 1/5 stars
Read Instead: If I Was Your Girl, If You Could Be Mine, Beauty Queens
Soph is a rich New Yorker. Tess is from a farm in New Hampshire. The teens room together at a writing conference and together learn more about each others' worlds.
TW: transphobia, homophobia, bullying, misgendering, etc.
Soph and Tess are rooming next to two other girls - Orly and Chris. Chris wants to be an investigative journalist, and when she discovers that Orly is transgender, she decides to investigate; i.e., she digs through Orly's things and spreads rumors to the other girls, trying to turn them against Orly. Never once does she speak with one of the event coordinators or instructors about her problem. This culminates in Chris moving the carrot nose from a snow person to turn it into a carrot penis. There isn't much resolution of this issue; there is an attempt at some sort of restorative justice with Chris and Orly, but as it appears in the last few pages of the book, it mostly falls flat.
The story of Soph and Tess - without the subplot of Orly and Chris - is fine. Soph and Tess come from very different worlds and get to learn about each other through the conference. This plot alone would have made this book fine. However, I take real issue with the transphobia throughout the book. Chris consistently misgenders Orly and is only halfheartedly corrected by some of the other girls. Chris's "come to Jesus" moment at the end does not end with her actually apologizing to Orly; she simply is bothered that no one "warned" her that she was going to have a transgender roommate. The reader is supposed to begin to feel sorry for Chris and this terrible position she was put in, when in fact Chris is the one in a position of power throughout the entire story. I can't in good conscience recommend this book to transgender teen readers. They deserve better.
Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: transphobia, homophobia (a side character was punched in the face by his father when he came out), misgendering, etc.
Overall Rating: 1/5 stars
Read Instead: If I Was Your Girl, If You Could Be Mine, Beauty Queens
July 23, 2019
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Snowsisters
Author: Tom Wilinsky & Jen Sternick
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 28
Stats
Editing: 10/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 9/10
Of the 28 readers:
28 would read another book by this author.
25 thought the cover was good or excellent.
28 felt it was easy to follow.
28 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
9 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
20 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
21 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
28 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
‘I like this book so much. The authors seem to know teenage girls pretty well; how mean we can be, how difficult, how we self-analyse way too much. I was totally invested in the two girls and what they went through in the story.’ Girl, aged 15
‘A sensitively written look at how two girls fall for each other at a writing camp. This book is well-written and looks at a number of important subjects teenagers grapple with. If you are LGBT yourself or simply enjoy character-led books, this is for you. And you don’t have to be a YA too enjoy it.’ Girl, aged 16
‘Tess and Soph were interesting. They were very different characters. I did skip over the poetry but I enjoyed the story.’ Boy, aged 16
‘The ending was so good I re-read it over and over. This is such an insightful story and truly looks at how teenagers feel, what they worry about, how nasty they can be - and how loving they can be too. It’s difficult being a teenager today, what with the internet and so much pressure to be the best. It was good to read a book that understands all of that, not only for American girls but for UK girls too.’ Girl, aged 16
To Sum It Up:
‘A gripping, character-led story of teenage girls trying to work out who they are and want they want. A SILVER MEDAL WINNER and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Title: Snowsisters
Author: Tom Wilinsky & Jen Sternick
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 28
Stats
Editing: 10/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 9/10
Of the 28 readers:
28 would read another book by this author.
25 thought the cover was good or excellent.
28 felt it was easy to follow.
28 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
9 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
20 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
21 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
28 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
‘I like this book so much. The authors seem to know teenage girls pretty well; how mean we can be, how difficult, how we self-analyse way too much. I was totally invested in the two girls and what they went through in the story.’ Girl, aged 15
‘A sensitively written look at how two girls fall for each other at a writing camp. This book is well-written and looks at a number of important subjects teenagers grapple with. If you are LGBT yourself or simply enjoy character-led books, this is for you. And you don’t have to be a YA too enjoy it.’ Girl, aged 16
‘Tess and Soph were interesting. They were very different characters. I did skip over the poetry but I enjoyed the story.’ Boy, aged 16
‘The ending was so good I re-read it over and over. This is such an insightful story and truly looks at how teenagers feel, what they worry about, how nasty they can be - and how loving they can be too. It’s difficult being a teenager today, what with the internet and so much pressure to be the best. It was good to read a book that understands all of that, not only for American girls but for UK girls too.’ Girl, aged 16
To Sum It Up:
‘A gripping, character-led story of teenage girls trying to work out who they are and want they want. A SILVER MEDAL WINNER and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
June 9, 2018
This book starts with a content warning: the characters in this book aren't always right, because they've been exposed to ignorance. Also, this book contains homophobia, transphobia, purposeful misgendering of a trans person, transphobic bullying and mentions to homophobic child abuse.
I have the feeling the people in the review section who keep yelling "THIS BOOK IS TRANSPHOBIC!!" might've completely overlooked that warning. I do have to admit that I might be biased, because I'm cisgender.
This book follows two teenage girls, who are assigned as roommates at an all-female writing program, and they both have a lot to learn.
Soph is from a wealthy family from Manhattan. She's openly gay and she absolutely cannot graps the fact that someone people don't come out, because in her eyes, they have to. If you don't, then you're just pathetic for hiding that part of yourself.
Tess is from a smallminded town and she lives on a farm somewhere. When a transwoman named Orly gets bullied at the program, she doesn't intervene, because she believes it will only make matters worse.
Again, I have the feeling that people who didn't like this book may not have understood that the entire point of this book is that they are wrong. The book follows both Soph as Tess while they start to learn other people's perspectives. Not only each other's, but everyone's. The world is not as black and white as they expected.
And I think that this book did a wonderful job of showing both Soph and Tess other perspectives. Soph has to learn the hard truth about how some people can't come out and Tess understands that not doing anything automatically gives the hatred side more power.
Because, after all, we all have a lot to learn and unlearn.
I have the feeling the people in the review section who keep yelling "THIS BOOK IS TRANSPHOBIC!!" might've completely overlooked that warning. I do have to admit that I might be biased, because I'm cisgender.
This book follows two teenage girls, who are assigned as roommates at an all-female writing program, and they both have a lot to learn.
Soph is from a wealthy family from Manhattan. She's openly gay and she absolutely cannot graps the fact that someone people don't come out, because in her eyes, they have to. If you don't, then you're just pathetic for hiding that part of yourself.
Tess is from a smallminded town and she lives on a farm somewhere. When a transwoman named Orly gets bullied at the program, she doesn't intervene, because she believes it will only make matters worse.
Again, I have the feeling that people who didn't like this book may not have understood that the entire point of this book is that they are wrong. The book follows both Soph as Tess while they start to learn other people's perspectives. Not only each other's, but everyone's. The world is not as black and white as they expected.
And I think that this book did a wonderful job of showing both Soph and Tess other perspectives. Soph has to learn the hard truth about how some people can't come out and Tess understands that not doing anything automatically gives the hatred side more power.
Because, after all, we all have a lot to learn and unlearn.
March 30, 2020
When I taught high school English, I rarely enjoyed the young adult fiction genre. I was, however, always on the lookout for books that might provide some "bibliotherapy." For me, that was any selection that helped teens examine their societal beliefs and gain insight into their own behaviors towards the end of becoming more grounded and purposeful in this complex society. BUT I REALLY ENJOYED Snow Sisters. Wilinsky and Sternick juxtaposed the cast of characters with a seamless touch--providing a domain largely navigated by teens without an onslaught of interfering and "knowing" caregivers to guide and manage them. The tentative nature of teenaged girls is well handled and realistic because so much of the "action" is internal--demonstrating how teens process their fears, insecurities, and emerging identities before developing the confidence to express integrity and honesty.
Snow Sisters also creates a rich terrain for building gender awareness. Having the girls attend a writing workshop is a clever way of bringing multiple perspectives together. The book deftly reveals how environments impact individuals' views about how the world does and should work. This is critical for global citizenry. Young adults need the opportunity to understand how bias, ignorance, and growth can happen within and beyond their relative contexts.
Kudos to the authors for handling these issues in an entertaining, sensitive, and uplifting way. Gender freedom is celebrated while illustrating the learning and growth curves needed to build a more tolerant society.
Snow Sisters also creates a rich terrain for building gender awareness. Having the girls attend a writing workshop is a clever way of bringing multiple perspectives together. The book deftly reveals how environments impact individuals' views about how the world does and should work. This is critical for global citizenry. Young adults need the opportunity to understand how bias, ignorance, and growth can happen within and beyond their relative contexts.
Kudos to the authors for handling these issues in an entertaining, sensitive, and uplifting way. Gender freedom is celebrated while illustrating the learning and growth curves needed to build a more tolerant society.
April 3, 2018
I don’t know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn’t what I read. It wasn’t particularly good but it wasn’t bad either, just meh. The protagonists were kind of annoying and one dimensional. The character development seemed forced and most of the book was about a trans girl being harassed. Listen, it’s 2018, why was someone so outraged and disgusted that they were rooming with a trans girl? I understand that there’s probably people out there in this world that think like Chris but honestly it made no sense to me how she felt so uncomfortable and uneasy about being in the same room as a “man” that she draw a penis on a snowsister! Also, Soph and Tess spent so much time trying to connect with Chris and understand her after she threw a hissy fit and hid away crying because everyone was going to attack her but they couldn’t do the same for Orly? I mean. These girls are supposed to be 17-18 years old but they act like children. Even the romantic development of the two main characters was underwhelming. You are telling me that Tess who was so afraid of being outed as a lesbian that she didn’t tell her out and proud lesbian roommate she had a fake boyfriend, who refused to hold hands Soph in public; would just all of a sudden come to the realization that she wants people to know about her sexuality and relationship after only a couple of days? Unrealistic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2019
Soph, a wealthy teen from Manhattan, is accepted into a prestigious week-long writers' program for young women. She is hoping to impress the program's director and get accepted into the director's college writing program. Tess, whose family owns a dairy farm in NH, is also accepted, though she is much less confident in her writing and fears that the fan fiction she writes will be judged as not worthy.
The two are paired as roommates, and for most of the book, they have trouble understanding one another and clash a bit. But there's a bigger issue when one of their classmates, a trans female teen, is being targeted by another of the program's participants. Through their involvement in this issue, Soph and Tess come to understand and accept one another.
There's a major twist to the plot about 2/3 of the way through and I felt there wasn't enough preparation for the reader to not be unduly surprised. I imagine the authors planned it this way, but I thought it was a bit too jolting and sudden. My other issue is with Soph's poetry, which came off as too juvenile, given the character's intellect that is shown in other ways.
All that said, I liked the book a great deal and feel that the characters really stayed with me, especially Tess. The epilogue, in particular, was quite good.
The two are paired as roommates, and for most of the book, they have trouble understanding one another and clash a bit. But there's a bigger issue when one of their classmates, a trans female teen, is being targeted by another of the program's participants. Through their involvement in this issue, Soph and Tess come to understand and accept one another.
There's a major twist to the plot about 2/3 of the way through and I felt there wasn't enough preparation for the reader to not be unduly surprised. I imagine the authors planned it this way, but I thought it was a bit too jolting and sudden. My other issue is with Soph's poetry, which came off as too juvenile, given the character's intellect that is shown in other ways.
All that said, I liked the book a great deal and feel that the characters really stayed with me, especially Tess. The epilogue, in particular, was quite good.
December 29, 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and Duet for letting me read and review this ARC.
The premise of this book was promising. I kind of love a boarding school/camp YA tale, and the scenario of a writing conference was a fun setting for this tale. There were good things about it, particularly the way the authors spin the transphobic storyline into one that's LGBTQ+ positive. I think the best thing about this novel was the way the different backgrounds of the characters allowed for the various perspectives to be explored.
My main problem is that the writing was kind of clunky. I found it difficult to keep characters straight, and reading as an eARC, it wasn't easy to flip back to check. As characters were mentioned, I found myself trying to remember who they were. The character of Chris seemed very unlikely, too. I understand that transphobia like this absolutely exists in the world, but the character's actions seemed unrealistic and didn't really match with what she kept describing as being "unsafe." The way the other characters responded, or didn't respond, also seemed really unrealistic, especially out-and-proud character Soph, and the conference staff.
The premise of this book was promising. I kind of love a boarding school/camp YA tale, and the scenario of a writing conference was a fun setting for this tale. There were good things about it, particularly the way the authors spin the transphobic storyline into one that's LGBTQ+ positive. I think the best thing about this novel was the way the different backgrounds of the characters allowed for the various perspectives to be explored.
My main problem is that the writing was kind of clunky. I found it difficult to keep characters straight, and reading as an eARC, it wasn't easy to flip back to check. As characters were mentioned, I found myself trying to remember who they were. The character of Chris seemed very unlikely, too. I understand that transphobia like this absolutely exists in the world, but the character's actions seemed unrealistic and didn't really match with what she kept describing as being "unsafe." The way the other characters responded, or didn't respond, also seemed really unrealistic, especially out-and-proud character Soph, and the conference staff.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2018
When I was on page 77 I said "so far (page 76) it's very heavy-handed. Like it's written carefully, by committee, to inform the youthful reader. The characters feel like constructs rather than people, and they never have anything noteworthy to say. Sort of the opposite of a John Green book."
Now that I have finished it, I can say that it picks up a bit toward the end. Some of the characters acquire a patina of personality (I know that's oxymoronic). A little. It still feels like a Disney After-School Special on Transgender Lite.
I was a little surprised that so many Goodreads reviewers were so disturbed by the misgendering as to be unwilling to read the book. As upsetting as misgendering is, the bigotry, or ignorance, of basically one closed-minded character, was inserted by the writers for purposes of being exposed and corrected. The thing that is really upsetting to me is how the bigot character is merely a tool to illustrate bigotry, rather than an actual three-dimensional character.
Now that I have finished it, I can say that it picks up a bit toward the end. Some of the characters acquire a patina of personality (I know that's oxymoronic). A little. It still feels like a Disney After-School Special on Transgender Lite.
I was a little surprised that so many Goodreads reviewers were so disturbed by the misgendering as to be unwilling to read the book. As upsetting as misgendering is, the bigotry, or ignorance, of basically one closed-minded character, was inserted by the writers for purposes of being exposed and corrected. The thing that is really upsetting to me is how the bigot character is merely a tool to illustrate bigotry, rather than an actual three-dimensional character.
April 7, 2018
Follows meeting of two girls from very different backgrounds (rural NH and Manhattan), who are assigned as roommates at writer's retreat for high school girls. Even with some very heavy topics (see below), this is a nice story about finding - a deeper version of - yourself, finding your voice and maybe even finding love.
Contains important discussions of inclusion and diversity - in life and in feminism, particularly on the issues of class, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Some of it is about perspective - not everyone is in a safe place to come out, challenging urban, upper-class Soph's the "everyone must be out" directive.
Some of this is nasty - teenage TERF outing and bullying another participant. [Many reviews have hated this - and we should hate that it happens - but is DOES happen, and its important that our lit reflects this reality and challenges us to stand up to it.]
Contains important discussions of inclusion and diversity - in life and in feminism, particularly on the issues of class, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Some of it is about perspective - not everyone is in a safe place to come out, challenging urban, upper-class Soph's the "everyone must be out" directive.
Some of this is nasty - teenage TERF outing and bullying another participant. [Many reviews have hated this - and we should hate that it happens - but is DOES happen, and its important that our lit reflects this reality and challenges us to stand up to it.]
February 16, 2018
This terrific new YA is set at a writer’s conference for young women. The girls hail from varied places and backgrounds; they are gay and straight, cis- and transgender; and they write everything from structured classical sonnets to blogs, from journalism to fan fiction. What they have in common is that they are all gifted writers and they are willing to work hard at honing their craft, something I find particularly refreshing in the age of Tweets and Blue Apron. While the heart of the book is the gradual, delicately told story of first love between the protagonists, Tess and Soph, the authors have given every girl at the conference a love story with herself. If you have young people in your life – especially if they are LGBTAQI and/or artists – or if you yourself wouldn’t let a “YA” label stop you from enjoying a fresh and charming debut novel, I highly recommend “Snowsisters.”
August 26, 2018
This book tackles closeting, transphobia, and what it means to be LGBTQIA from different walks of life. It shows the hesitance of people to stand up for others when it means shining a spotlight on themselves. Though not the best book I've ever read, I felt the need to write this because I'm seeing a lot of hate in the reviews for portraying transphobia. I'm baffled as to why writing the real kind of harassment trans teens gets is somehow not okay? Should teen lit reflect queer utopias instead of queer realities? The book has a content notice before it begins, and I feel that's due diligence done.
However, I do think the trans experience could have been centered here, as it was such a driving force of the book. Having to see through the eyes of queer characters of privilege doesn't do this book any favors, and Orly should have had a voice too.
However, I do think the trans experience could have been centered here, as it was such a driving force of the book. Having to see through the eyes of queer characters of privilege doesn't do this book any favors, and Orly should have had a voice too.
June 5, 2018
Brutally honest one moment and adorably sweet the next, Snowsisters is filled with all the angsty drama and tumultuous emotions of coming of age. The camaraderie between the girls was wonderfully rich, punctuated by realistic dialogue and a believable, developing f/f relationship.
The way Soph and Tess navigated the tough decisions before them was poignantly reminiscent of growing up, making those fateful moral decisions that determine your strength of character going forward. The Happy For Now ending made for a satisfying finale, but I’d certainly love a sequel. 5+ stars! Highly recommended!
The way Soph and Tess navigated the tough decisions before them was poignantly reminiscent of growing up, making those fateful moral decisions that determine your strength of character going forward. The Happy For Now ending made for a satisfying finale, but I’d certainly love a sequel. 5+ stars! Highly recommended!
August 16, 2018
In Snowsisters, Tom Wilinsky and Jen Sternick tell the story of two very different girls, who meet at a retreat for female authors. As different in personality and background as they are as writers (Soph writes sonnets, while Tess writes fan fiction), the personal growth and developing relationship between the two is expertly handled and realistic. As in life, neither the course of true love, nor the path to compassion and acceptance runs smoothly in this book and some uncomfortable moments only serve to remind us as that people are capable of change for the better and that only through sensitivity and understanding can chasms be bridged.
February 22, 2018
I was quite impressed by this YA book, especially since it was the first for the co-authors. The two voice narration worked well and kept advancing the narrative. Writing was tight and the characters stood out, growing in their week together.
I have not read much LGBTQ fiction and am certainly not an expert on that issue regarding content and characterization in this book. However, to me, it’s a perfect YA, coming-of-age story that I found myself grabbing during the day, wanting to find out what happened. Young women at a writing conference = a winning formula!
I have not read much LGBTQ fiction and am certainly not an expert on that issue regarding content and characterization in this book. However, to me, it’s a perfect YA, coming-of-age story that I found myself grabbing during the day, wanting to find out what happened. Young women at a writing conference = a winning formula!
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