Snowhook

by Jo Storm

Trapped with her family in a remote cabin without power, Hannah figures it will be fun to practice her survival skills as they wait out the ice storm. But when her mom runs dangerously low on insulin, nothing is fun anymore. Hannah must use all her skills and resourcefulness to get help before time runs out — for all of them.

Genres: Young Adult, Adventure, Survival

214 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 26, 2019

Reviews

[Kylie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thrilling young adults book that sees 14yo Hannah caught in her family cabin with a massive blizzard on the way. Her father has been called away to help elsewhere, not realising that the worst of the storm is heading for his family. When an accident breaks all her mother's supply of insulin, Hannah sneaks away in the middle of the night with her team of sled dogs to go and get help. However, nothing is straight forward! Through various mishaps and an unexpected passenger, our intrepid heroine and her trusty canines battle the winter wilds of Canada as they race time and the storm to raise help.

This book is an easy read and I sped through it quickly. In one place my heart started racing as I worried about a poor dog that got itself into trouble! I feel that the novel could have done with a bit more information at the end, perhaps an epilogue, giving more details about the aftermath of the storm, but in no way did this detract from the exciting, heart pumping story. We get to know Hannah as a brave, resourceful girl, and of course, each of her four wonderful dogs, each with their own personality, as they come together as a team. I recommend this book to everyone who appreciates a good animal tale and feisty teenage heroines.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dundern Publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of things Hannah Williams doesn't understand. She doesn't understand why her family bought a cabin in the middle of nowhere. She doesn't understand why she has to be respectful to everyone, even her annoying younger sister. She doesn't understand why she can't go to away camp like all the other kids her age do. She's tired of being treated like a kid. Tired of staying at a cabin with her family. Tired of her dad's Learning Face every time she whines about his lessons on survival, building a fire, taking care of the dogs......

Hannah is just tired of everything.

In the middle of their family winter camping expedition, her father is called to report for duty with the Army ahead of a massive snowstorm. The storm changes direction, heading for the area where the Williams are camping, dropping huge amounts of snow and ice. Then an accident leaves Hannah's mom without the insulin she needs. Hannah has to stop being angry, use her survival skills and strike out for town to get help.

I read this story while snow and sleet was falling outside so it was perfect timing. :) It is completely obvious that the author is experienced with outdoor skills, sled dogs and survival skills. It made for such a realistic, vibrant story. Hannah puts her skills to the test and faces dangerous weather conditions to help her family. She learns several important lessons during her journey and puts the knowledge her parents taught her to work. It made for perfect reading on a snowy night.

I will definitely be on the lookout for more outdoor adventure tales from this author!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Dundurn via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

[Kirsti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

First off, I really wanted to love this book, because I love survival stories generally. But this one was a little off for me,and a whole lot of that came from the main character, Hannah. She was honestly one of the worst 14 year olds I've ever met; whiny, selfish. foolhardy. There is very little to like about any of the characters actually (like Peter for example, and his attitude towards the dogs) or why the dads would go off with a storm about to hit, and leaving Jeb who obviously needs help in the middle of nowhere with Peter- the list goes on.

Honestly, all the things I disliked about this book made it too hard to like anything. The writing is weirdly stilted, and sometimes goes poetical and then jumps back more basic structure. It was confusing. I'll give this two stars for the dogs, but that's it.

[Lectus · Rating 1 out of 5]

So there is a massive storm coming and the father is called in to work to help in the storm (he must have been some type of coast guard or something). Despite of being with his family in a remote cabin, the father chooses to go to save people rather than stay and protect his own. Wow! I guess his sense of duty was bigger than his sense of family. But fine, in YA parents have to be gone for the teenager to be a hero. However, something more convincing wouldn't hurt.

So the family stays trapped in the storm and our little hero, Hannah, suggests to go for help but mom says "no" because the wind is too strong. However, a couple of hours later (or maybe just later) she is allowed to go for help because... The wind is stronger? Again, write something that makes sense!

But, what am I saying? This book is for tweens and teens so there is a chance that they will not catch these little inconsistencies.

Lastly but not least, Hannah has to save, not only herself, but also an inept adult. Was there more people to be saved? I don't know as I DNF it.

However, I see how this blqnd survival nonsense could appeal to a young audience.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this title.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss Plus for providing me with an eARC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

I SO ENJOYED this book. I wasn't sure what to expect, beyond a "wilderness" adventure book, and this was so good. I loved reading about Hannah's trip into the wilderness to try to get to town during a storm in an attempt to get the insulin her mother needs. The insulin that Hannah accidentally knocked off the counter and broke as the weather turned and the temperature dropped. I loved getting to see the work dogs, strong Huskies used to pulling sleds and doing runs, interact with the two "house dogs," a Lab and a Dalmatian willing to work but not necessarily bred for the distance of crossing the Canadian wild. This was a great book and a first purchase for most middle school/young adult collections, especially where students are interested in adventure and survival books. Recommended for grades 7-10. Give to students who enjoyed Ali Carters Not if I Save You First or anything by Watt Key.

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Snowhook is like something I have never read before, and it is unique in its genre. It's nice to read this book, about the dogs and the sled, it was educational. I'm just not sure if this book is even enjoyable for Teens/YA. It feels like a lot of things are made up during the writing to make the story exciting. I was never scared or afraid for the main character and the story overall felt like something that could've been avoided easily...

A longer review can be found at Bite Into Books

Don't get me wrong: The writing was not bad and the biggest pro was Hannah's character. This book just didn't catch me. I always wonder if I'm too old, but I'm not really sure if any teen would like this story. I haven't seen that much reviews, so I'm very curious how the community will welcome this book. This just wasn't a hit for me, sorry.

[Tc Bennetthotmailcom]

Great book and great story. Absolutely loved it even though I am "of a certain age". Highly recommended even for not so young adults. Well written and loved the dogs. Can't wait for the next book by this author.

[Carolyn Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for this suspenseful story of wilderness survival. I am decades beyond the target YA audience for the book but such an adventure book has always been high on my list.

I had several problems with the story which may be my fault. I may have missed the reason why the family were at their isolated cabin during the school term in Toronto, and why they would be there with the possibility of snowstorms and blocked roads. When the father was called away to help with the results of a snow/ice storm in Quebec did no one at the weather office predict that the storm was heading toward their cabin in Ontario?

My biggest problem was in visualizing the way the rigging and harnesses fastened the dogs to the sleigh, the snow hook and the design of the sled. This was thoroughly explained for the reader but I thought diagrams would be most helpful. I would have also wished for diagrams covering the track to Jeb’s cabin, the various trails traveled by sled and finally the way to Timmins.

I found Hannah to be a whiny. Discontented 14 year old, which is no surprise as she would rather be in the city with her friends, the malls and smart phones. When she accidentally knocks over her mother’s insulin supply during a snowstorm she decided to sneak off during the night with the dogs hitched to the sled. Her plan was to reach Jeb’s nearby cottage and call for help. She desperately wants to obtain insulin and save her mother’s life but she also envisions being a hero and maybe be featured in the newspaper. Riding in the sled which is pulled by two experienced sled dogs and two house dogs she arrives at Jeb’s yard. On approaching the cabin plans go astray. She and Jeb’s nephew, 16 year old Peter, are forced to run away in the dog sled.

Hannah had met Peter previously and found him to be rude, sarcastic and argumentative. Peter tells her about a cottage where it’s owner had a snowmobile and a phone and they head there. Their plans take a drastic turn when they find the place deserted. Peter plans to return home to Jeb’s but Hannah is anxious to proceed to Timmins for her mother’s medication. Much argument ensued until Peter seriously injured his leg. They have no choice but to carry on along barely visible trails through blizzards, rain and ice. They are wet and cold and hungry. The dogs are exhausted. Much of the food, clothing and other supplies have been lost or damaged along the way.

Near the end of their ordeal the two teenagers develop a grudging respect for each other and learn to cooperate. I wanted to know the outcome for her diabetic mother and if the father made it back already and how the family regarded what Hannah did.

[Grayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rating I would give this book is a 4 because it was very interesting and good and lived up to my expectations and for most parts I did not want to put it down. One reason I feel this way is because in the book at certain points it was fairly repetitive but then quickly went back into another interesting part of the book. One example from the book that supports my rating is when the characters were leaving the house to go somewhere but since they live away from civilization in a blizzard they have to get the sled dogs ready and everything and i feel that everything that they would leave and come back it would get kind of repetitive and not as interesting as other points in the book. When this happened I felt that it made me want to skip some pages because it felt like nothing interesting or important was going to happen and this is why the book only met my expectations and did not exceed them. I gave the book a rating of 4 stars and not 5 because of those reasons and that it also felt kind of dry and just boring at other parts too. One example of this rating is when they got back to the house there were a solid 2 pages or so of them just chilling in the house and waiting and not much of anything interesting had happened during that time and it felt pretty boring to read about that part. This justified my rating because the whole entire book isn't super boring but some parts of the book can get boring. That is why I did not give it a 5 but also didn't give it a 3. This is important because it shows how much effort was put into making this book and how good the author is at writing an interesting book. This matters because it determines how many people like the book and how many are likely to actually read the book. I think that I would read a different book by this author. It is just that I might end up skipping past some boring parts if there are as many as there were in this book.

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received an eARC from Netgalley for review. All Opinions are my own.*

This book had a lot of potential with me. I like wilderness books. I like novels where teens have to survive serious situations by using their smarts and working things out. I love stories with animals as a main part, especially dogs. So, there was a lot of hope here for me.

Unfortunately, it was undone by a few factors. I held out hope as long as I could but I ended up getting drug behind the back of the dogsled.

I didn't like the main character. Hannah was whiney and drove me insane. However, I am many years past 14, so it could be I was a bit too old to appreciate her. She does try to right the wrong of breaking all of her mom's insulin, yet the way she goes about it is so irresponsible it was hard to be on her side. Some times Hannah would be thinking through things vert smartly, then she would just be irrational. It gave me whiplash.

This also has my least favorite troupe in YA. Where all the adults are stupid or are trying to repress the smarts of the child. Or that all adults are gun toting and trying to kill you. It drives me insane!

Also, Peter drove me nuts. I hated him. I didn't want him around. It was too much childish bickering and I tuned him out most of the time.

Finally, the amount of explanation of every little thing is a bit like the Hatchet series, but way overboard. I'm not saying younger kids won't like the details, but they had me snoozing.

So, I'm giving this one 2 stars. The premise was good, I was hoping for more.

Thank you Netgalley for the free copy to review.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Review: I received this complimentary book via Netgalley, the following is my honest and unbiased opinion. When I was younger, I was obsessed with dogsled teams and this book really cued into that love. I did struggle a bit to get into this one, I was not a huge fan of Hannah, throughout the book, even though it appears she is doing her best. The urgency of the situation and the dangers that she must overcome felt a little disconnected. I feel like this is a book that would have been even better in 1st person, to put you more in the situation with the characters. I was also very frustrated by the decisions made throughout this story, maybe it is because I am an adult reader but several of choices Hannah made were clearly not the correct decisions to make. I am also a little surprised by the fact that she is a city girl who visits the cabin only on holidays and vacations but somehow knows how to survive in blizzard conditions and all the dog psychology required to train new sled dogs. The ending is rather abrupt and doesn't fully close out the story or tie up any of the loose ends, honestly as an parent with a child potentially reading this book I want to see the families reunited, consequences handed down and medical attention delivered to all parties. It ended up being rather unbelievable as an adult reader, though I think that a younger reader who may not have the knowledge that I do may enjoy the adventure behind the story more.

[Polly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy of Snowhook.

The love that the author has for the outdoor lifestyle comes across, but with it the book seems a little instructional at times - it would have been great to see the mechanics of dog sledding narrated and explained in a way that felt a little less like a 101 class.

The ending comes abruptly - the book could do with another couple of chapters in my opinion. It felt like a book full of build up that slightly cheated the reader out of the climax.

But for a young reader, it takes you on a great adventure, set in an environment that not many books seem to be of a dangerous rural Canada winter. It's also nice to read a story about a hero who makes mistakes along the way, and learns from them - and for that reason, Hannah feels real, relatable, and human.

*** minor spoilers ahead ***

There are a lot of questions left unanswered by the abrupt ending though. Does Hannah's mother remain healthy? Does Peter's leg survive? What is the reaction of Hannah's parents, and of Jeb, upon their return? When does Hannah's dad make it back? Is Hubbard trustworthy? He obviously seems to be, but given that the book is a string of disasters that Hannah and Peter escape, you're left wondering about that too.

2.5/5, rounded up to 3.

[Beth Mendelsohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Hannah, 14 years-old, and her family spending part of their winter vacation at their cabin in a remote part of Ontario, 440 miles from Toronto. Her father, who is in the Reserves, is called up to go to Quebec to help with a massive storm that's about to hit the area. Weather being what is is, the storm winds up hitting the area of their cabin. Hannah accidentally breaks her mother's insulin ampules so now she is desperately low on her medication. Power is out and so are the phone lines. Hannah makes the decision to go get help from a neighbor several hours away by dogsled. Things go horribly wrong and now Hannah and 16-year-old Peter try to get to the city to get the medicine. By dogsled in one storm after another.
I normally like survival stories but unfortunately there was not much to like about this one. The characters are hard to like. Hannah is a typical know-it-all teenager and Peter is just obnoxious. Usually characters experience growth by the end of the story. Not so in this one. Also, way too much time was spent with the details about hooking up the dogs to the sled. At the beginning, definitely, but not every time! And I was not thrilled with the ending. It just ended with nothing being wrapped up. Because of those reasons, I cannot recommend this book.

[Jessica Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never read a survival story like this one before, so i didn’t know what to expect but I was very excited to get stuck into it. A fourteen year old girl out on a rescue mission with her sled dogs.. I couldn’t wait to see what happened.

Overall I enjoyed it a lot, the story was gripping and there was always something happening to keep me reading. It was detailed enough, but not too much to bore me and the atmosphere was brilliant, I was thoroughly wrapped up in the story.
It would have been a 5 star if it ended better though, I feel like I have a million questions to ask now. I would have been a lot better if there was an epilogue.. I needed to know if there dogs were okay, if Hannah’s mum and Jeb were okay, and whether they’d even bothered looking for the kids?? The whole mission was to get insulin and we actually never found out whether Hannah got any.. I would also liked to know why Peter was so scared of the dogs..
But putting that aside, I enjoyed the story a lot, I was only disappointed with it when I got to the end and realised The was no epilogue. Definitely recommend if this is your sort of book!

Thanks to NetGalley & the publishers for my ARC copy.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I tore through it on my first read-through, and I already know I'm going to go back and read it again and again to pick up on all the details I may have missed in my rush to make sure everything ended up okay!

The characters were all really well-defined, even the secondary characters, with distinct complex personalities. I love that the focus was on Hannah and her development, particularly with relation to her interactions with her dogs and her cousin, and that she continued to grow throughout the story. The dogs are wonderfully depicted too, and are definitely characters in their own right.

I have no experience with sledding, but I like that through minimal technical explanations, everything that happened, and that Hannah did, made sense to me.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in strong young female protagonists, and a liking for unusual adventure stories involving dogs, sledding, and snow! It's billed as YA, but I would say it's suitable for anyone YA and older who enjoys a really good read.

[Josephine Sorrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story a lot but I’m not sure for MBOB with the language.
It doesn’t bother me but it may not be okay with some of our young readers.



Profanity is used occasionally and includes asshole, bullshit, holy crap, crap, goddamn, damn, hell, jackass, shit.
Throughout the story, Hannah and Peter argue and call each other names including idiot, jerk, asshole, pansy-ass, shithead, chicken, and jackass.
One of the characters uses “Jesus” as an exclamation. For example, “By the Jesus, it’s cold.”
Peters says his dad is “chickenshit.”
Peter and Hannah argue and Peter calls Hannah an “idiot.” In return, Hannah calls Peter a “jackass.” In one fight Peter tells Hannah, “You’re just a snotty little city girl. Go to hell.”
When Hannah and Peter try to find safety, Peter yells, “If you hadn’t brought those goddamn dogs, if you hadn’t yelled and banged on the door, then everything would have been okay!”

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snowhook
by Jo Storm
Dundurn

Teens & YA
Pub Date 19 Feb 2019


I am reviewing a copy Of Snowhook through Dundurn and Netgalley:


Hannah looks at the massive ice storm that traps her and her Mom in the remote cabin, it seems like a practice of the survival skills she's been learning. That all changes after an accident leaves her Mother dangerously low on Insulin. With no power and no way to contact the outside world, Hannah must go get help with the four family dogs tied to an old dogsled.


All Hannah can do is to make it to the nearest cabin and find a working phone to save the day. A wrong turn and worsening weather leave her in grave danger as well as saddled with a passenger she did not expect. Hannah must use all her skills and resourcefulness to get help before her family freezes to death in the wilderness.



I give Snowhook five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because the author was doing a signing at my local bookstore and I can't pass up a survival story. The book is like a breath of fresh winter air, with good pacing and the rarest of things, a truly strong female main character. I've read a decent amount of YA fiction in my life and this is the first time in my reading experience (especially in an adventure novel) that there was not a romance forced into the story, considering the protagonist is female. I felt immersed in the experience of dogsledding in the North Reading this, it was informative and enjoyable. As a fan of Jack London as a kid, this is the book I wish had been around when I was young.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this really interesting, and I absolutely loved the setting - as an Australian that amount of snowy danger is impossible to fathom! It reminded me of the blizzards they encountered in the Little House books. Hannah was a fun character too, even if she really didn't think as much as she should have before acting! Peter was horrible though. Absolutely no redeeming features even him jumping into the ice to save the dog was too little, too late, I felt and I honestly feel like the book needed one more chapter at the end, there was just no closure :(

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun. The story was fast paced, Hannah was an out-of-the-ordinary heroine for a YA book, and Peter was just as complex a character which was nice. A thrilling adventure story with strong characters, strong stakes, and strong writing. Recommend for ages 11 and up, male or female.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for young teens who like adventure stories, especially those featuring girls. Yes, Hannah is sort of a pill in spots (but she's 14!) and yes you can argue any number of points about her dad leaving when a storm is coming (but who knew the insulin would break?). Read this for what it is. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. I enjoyed this as a quick read.

[Shelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The synopsis seemed like a book I'd enjoy, but I didn't find that to be the case at all.

I did slog all the way through, hoping to find an interesting or satisfying resolution to the plot, and was quite disappointed. I felt as though many issues were left unresolved, almost as though there were a page count to be met and once that happened the author sent the manuscript in to the publisher.

[Nadine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A classic survival story set in Ontario’s north revolving around two teens and their too big, hero-egos. This book weaves the traditional survival story plot line with a plethora of information about dog sledding. An interesting read with a subpar ending.

[Mischa Litalien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this a few years ago and was one of the books that got me back into reading, my aunt suggested it to me because she knew Jo personally I believe. Overall a really great book, still to this day I go back to it sometimes and annotate some pages. ❤️

[Susan Faloon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. Review coming later.

[Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

i like this book at the start as it felt good and fun to read. but this book had told similar events now than to the past events. But the ending was cool though as my prediction turn out different

[bex-bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice fun read

[Xana Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved every part of this book. ending was rushed, but otherwise, really great!

[EJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, no qualifiers. Things that were awesome:

- The protagonist. Hannah spoke to me, a female reader who desperately wanted to see more adventure stories with girls like me when I was growing up.
- The use of landscape as an integral part of the plot and almost a standalone character. Very very cool.
- The unique nature of the story’s primary setting - a dog sled. So fun - and I ended up learning some stuff too about sledding and dogs.
- The adventure. The book was exciting, and I was full of emotions throughout.
- The relationship between the two main characters. Loved Peter and the very fractious and yet evolving relationship he had with Hannah.

All the above is really my opinion of the book; more critically, here are another few of the things I loved in this book:

- Structure - this is a tightly plotted and neatly woven story, where theme, character arc, symbol, and plot all work together.
- Language - someone else said the language was “poetic” - I think what I really enjoyed about the use of language in this book was that it didn’t dumb itself down. I was a smart reader when I was a teenager, and this type of book and the level of the language would have made my day.
- Use of metaphor: the kernel metaphor caught me by surprise and kept catching me as it came back up in different ways for Hannah. It showed Hannah’s evolution as a leader in a quiet and moving way.

If you’re looking for a book for a teenager, or a book for yourself as an adult, that is thrilling, fun, actually well written with a care for technique and style, and that has characters you care about, this is the one.

[Felicia Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt this book was a little bland. I know I should have been on the edge of my seat with the situation Hannah gets into and severity of the situation, but it was just blah. I didn't feel emotionally invested in any of the characters.