What do you think?
Rate this book
Blizzard's Wake
Young adult. A book about a family who's mom was killed by a drunk driver, Zeke Dexter. when he is released from prison after serving three of his five year sentence, the family finds Zeke at the hands of their mercy. They could kill him easily if they wanted to, or they can take him in and help him get started on his feet again. It is a book about forgiveness and finding out who you are in a time of grief and sorrow.
Paperback
First published October 1, 2002
27 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
247 books1,037 followersPhyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana, US on January 4, 1933.
Her family were strongly religious with conservative, midwestern values and most of her childhood was spent moving a lot due to her father's occupation as a salesman.
Though she grew up during the Depression and her family did not have a lot of money, Naylor stated that she never felt poor because her family owned good books. Her parents enjoyed reading stories to the children--her father would imitate the characters in Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer--and her mother read to them every evening, "almost until we were old enough to go out on dates, though we never would have admitted this to anyone."
By the time Phyllis reached fifth grade, writing books was her favorite hobby and she would rush home from school each day to write down whatever plot had been forming in her head - at sixteen her first story was published in a local church magazine.
Phyllis has written over 80 books for children and young people. One of these books, "Shiloh," was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1992, was named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and was also Young Adult Choice by the International Reading Association.
Naylor gets her ideas from things that happen to her or from things she has read. "Shiloh" was inspired by a little abused dog she and her husband found. The little dog haunted her so much that she had to write a story about him to get it out of her mind.
Her family were strongly religious with conservative, midwestern values and most of her childhood was spent moving a lot due to her father's occupation as a salesman.
Though she grew up during the Depression and her family did not have a lot of money, Naylor stated that she never felt poor because her family owned good books. Her parents enjoyed reading stories to the children--her father would imitate the characters in Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer--and her mother read to them every evening, "almost until we were old enough to go out on dates, though we never would have admitted this to anyone."
By the time Phyllis reached fifth grade, writing books was her favorite hobby and she would rush home from school each day to write down whatever plot had been forming in her head - at sixteen her first story was published in a local church magazine.
Phyllis has written over 80 books for children and young people. One of these books, "Shiloh," was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1992, was named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and was also Young Adult Choice by the International Reading Association.
Naylor gets her ideas from things that happen to her or from things she has read. "Shiloh" was inspired by a little abused dog she and her husband found. The little dog haunted her so much that she had to write a story about him to get it out of her mind.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
July 18, 2020
Wow. This book was intense and excellent! The characters were well-defined, realistic, and believable. I can empathize and/or sympathize with each of the four main characters. I feel for them all... I love Naylor's writing and would read anything and everything she has written.
September 30, 2015
I can imagine (am I one?) lots of kids picking this up because it sounds so exciting-- teenaged girl getting stuck in a blizzard with the killer of her mother -- but then being really disappointed because the two don't even meet until the last third(ish) of the book. It feels a bit slow going but probably only because of this false promise made by the cover of the book. In fact, if you don't expect too much thrill, the story has something nice about the nature of forgiveness (simplified to some extent in ways that fit the genre of young adult literature). Given the style, kids would probably forget that the setting is 1941. Sure there is plenty of reference to Roosevelt and to car models etc. but there's as much about the setting -- North Dakota, I believe -- that's foreign as about the time period.
Read
September 1, 2016Sooo I cannot rate this book....... because I did not finish it. But not because I chose to not finish it but because I was forced to.
If you follow my Instagram, you may have seen on my storyline that the page jumped from 59 to 121, then with about maybe 50 or so pages in between that, it starts back over at pg 121.
This is by far the biggest error I've ever found in a book.
Luckily, I was reading this to see if I wanted to keep it around or not, and well, the 56 pages I was able to read weren't that interesting.
If you follow my Instagram, you may have seen on my storyline that the page jumped from 59 to 121, then with about maybe 50 or so pages in between that, it starts back over at pg 121.
This is by far the biggest error I've ever found in a book.
Luckily, I was reading this to see if I wanted to keep it around or not, and well, the 56 pages I was able to read weren't that interesting.
November 13, 2015
Read this before first snow.
Amazed at what folks had to survive w/o cell phones, internet and GPS.
Amazed at what folks had to survive w/o cell phones, internet and GPS.
June 8, 2019
I hate this cover, which makes it look like there's an element of magic or mysticism -- I guess it's a snow globe, but it looks like a crystal ball and/or a deity looking down into their universe -- when it is in fact a straightforward historical novel about a real and shockingly deadly blizzard that took place on March 15th, 1941, in the Red River Valley. Look for a surprising amount of discussion about the conflict in Europe and what role America might play in it in the near future, as well as contrasts between the way children, teens, and adults are affected by it. It made me realize how concentrated WWII fiction set in the U.S. is on wartime -- little ink is given over to what it was like during the prelude.
There is also a great amount of detail about what it was like to be inside the storm, the immense danger of being outside in it (you could get lost and freeze to death within 100 feet from familiar shelter, and even considerably less, without a fixed anchor line to follow), how to keep oneself warm inside a car with no heater, and how to treat frostbite and hypothermia (as administered by an actual doctor). I drifted off into a daydream for about half an hour afterwards, running the scenario over in my mind with different characters, it was that good.
The momentum stalls out once we get to time period described by the title -- Kate's conflict between grief and murderous, vengeful rage / struggle with forgiveness is what's supposed to keep the story timeless, but she honestly just bores me -- but I did at least enjoy getting some more details of life in a 1940s farmhouse, not yet wired for electricity and only partially powered by a generator, phone connected to a party line.
I am glad there are multiple perspectives. It might have detracted from my ability to sympathize with Kate by starting the story from Zeke's perspective, but watching his journey home from prison on the hope that his brother will take him in when he gets there, trying to find work in a town where just about everybody knows (and hates) his name, was compelling and did great work in establishing the era. Meanwhile, though Kate and Jesse didn't make much of an impression on me, their early chapters helped establish what everyday life was like for kids and families in rural America at the time.
There is also a great amount of detail about what it was like to be inside the storm, the immense danger of being outside in it (you could get lost and freeze to death within 100 feet from familiar shelter, and even considerably less, without a fixed anchor line to follow), how to keep oneself warm inside a car with no heater, and how to treat frostbite and hypothermia (as administered by an actual doctor). I drifted off into a daydream for about half an hour afterwards, running the scenario over in my mind with different characters, it was that good.
The momentum stalls out once we get to time period described by the title -- Kate's conflict between grief and murderous, vengeful rage / struggle with forgiveness is what's supposed to keep the story timeless, but she honestly just bores me -- but I did at least enjoy getting some more details of life in a 1940s farmhouse, not yet wired for electricity and only partially powered by a generator, phone connected to a party line.
I am glad there are multiple perspectives. It might have detracted from my ability to sympathize with Kate by starting the story from Zeke's perspective, but watching his journey home from prison on the hope that his brother will take him in when he gets there, trying to find work in a town where just about everybody knows (and hates) his name, was compelling and did great work in establishing the era. Meanwhile, though Kate and Jesse didn't make much of an impression on me, their early chapters helped establish what everyday life was like for kids and families in rural America at the time.
August 28, 2024
I love to read books about North Dakota. This story takes place there in the winter of 1941. My parents lived in that area of North Dakota during that time-period & have told many stories about the terrible winters & blizzards they'd have - how dangerous it was to travel in the winter without having a candle, candy bars, warm clothing & blankets - "just in case".
The story centers around a country doctor & his 2 children that lost their wife & mother to a drunk driver 5 years previously. The daughter is especially hard-hit by her mother's death & refuses to forgive the man who was the cause. That man spent the last 5 years in jail & has been released for "good behavior".
Most of the rest of the story takes place in the height of the fast-moving, totally unexpected blizzard that hits the area in which they all live. The story is written with a lot of emotion one would expect to accompany the death of a beloved person & the struggle to find forgiveness from all involved.
Very good book!
The story centers around a country doctor & his 2 children that lost their wife & mother to a drunk driver 5 years previously. The daughter is especially hard-hit by her mother's death & refuses to forgive the man who was the cause. That man spent the last 5 years in jail & has been released for "good behavior".
Most of the rest of the story takes place in the height of the fast-moving, totally unexpected blizzard that hits the area in which they all live. The story is written with a lot of emotion one would expect to accompany the death of a beloved person & the struggle to find forgiveness from all involved.
Very good book!
December 27, 2025
Rating: 4/5 stars
When an unexpected blizzard hits, Kate finds herself saving the life of the man responsible for her mother’s death.
This was another book on my Project DNF list, as I picked it up when I was 18 and only made it about halfway through. This time, I read it in a single sitting and I’m honestly not sure what made me put it down before.
The plot here was eventful and propulsive, and I really liked all the characters and the succinct writing style. I wanted a bit “more” from the ending, but the themes of healing and forgiveness here, while unsubtle, were very sweet. Overall, a perfectly solid read I’m so glad to have revisited.
CW: Death of parent; grief; car accident; injury/blood
When an unexpected blizzard hits, Kate finds herself saving the life of the man responsible for her mother’s death.
This was another book on my Project DNF list, as I picked it up when I was 18 and only made it about halfway through. This time, I read it in a single sitting and I’m honestly not sure what made me put it down before.
The plot here was eventful and propulsive, and I really liked all the characters and the succinct writing style. I wanted a bit “more” from the ending, but the themes of healing and forgiveness here, while unsubtle, were very sweet. Overall, a perfectly solid read I’m so glad to have revisited.
CW: Death of parent; grief; car accident; injury/blood
February 4, 2022
A new favorite from PRN. I brought this book home from the school library ahead of a winter weather event that cancelled school for the next three days. The chapters alternate POV for Kate, her brother, Jesse, her father who is a doctor, and Zeke, the man who killed their mother four years earlier. It is historical fiction set in 1941. I loved it! All the characters involved were at different stages of grief and forgiveness, but suddenly faced a similar battle for survival. The ending was abrupt but satisfying. I will admit to a few tears, for those who prefer not to read books that make them cry.
January 30, 2023
This book is a YA book. I picked up because I like stories where whether make life change. This book was a little slow I feel in the beginning then the blizzard happens. It has really good lessons in it. And then it grabs you. The chapters are short in this book gives history lessons in the story. I am giving this a 4 star review only because it was slow to begin with. But it has great lessons on history, survival during a blizzard and good lessons on forgiveness for children reading it. On lessons presented to children in a engaging story I give it 5 stars for the lessons It passes to the reader.I am definitely sending this off to my grandchildren’s library.
May 14, 2017
I wish that I had shared this book with Dad, to see if the cultural and historical details ring true. A terrible blizzard struck North Dakota in 1941, one of those freak storms that were all too common. Alternating chapters follow the Sterling family: Doc, Kate & Jesse; and Zeke Dexter, the drunk driver responsible for the death of Mrs. Sterling and who has just been released from prison. Kate is still struggling with her grief, guilt, and resentment over the loss of her mother, and like most of Naylor's characters, she is fully realized.
January 27, 2023
This book was great at describing what dangers blizzards bring. The detailing was great, I felt like I was really there, stuck in the car, freezing.
I understood a lot of what Kate was going through, but not quite her viciousness, to some degree, until I realized it was also herself that she was upset with.
The start of the book was quite slow, and with the detail on the front and in the summary, I thought Zeke would be in more of the book with Kate, instead of just the last third. I had to push through somewhat, but I'm glad I did.
I understood a lot of what Kate was going through, but not quite her viciousness, to some degree, until I realized it was also herself that she was upset with.
The start of the book was quite slow, and with the detail on the front and in the summary, I thought Zeke would be in more of the book with Kate, instead of just the last third. I had to push through somewhat, but I'm glad I did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2013
05 November 2003 BLIZZARD'S WAKE by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, October 2002, ISBN 0-689-85220-7
"Inside the forlorn station a man in a wrinkled shirt studied Zeke from behind the counter. Zeke knew that even if Dwayne's phone were working, he wouldn't try calling him at eleven forty-five at night.
" 'What time do you close?' he asked the ticket agent.
" 'Long as the buses keep comin', I'm open,' the man in the wrinkled shirt said.
" 'Any objection to me waiting out the night in a chair over there?'
" 'What bus you waitin' on?'
" 'No bus. Had a change of plans, and my ride won't be here till morning.
" 'Well, you're welcome to a chair, but it can't be all that comfortable, seeing as how you just got off a bus. There's a hotel two blocks away--rooms half price after midnight. Real cheap and you won't get lice or nothing.'
"Zeke thought it over as the man gave directions. 'Out the door there, turn left, two blocks down, it'll be on the right.'
"A shower and a bed would feel good, Zeke decided. Why not?
"Once in the room, however, he could not sleep. He showered, put on his shorts and undershirt again, and crawled under the covers, but his body seemed restless, wired.
"At two thirty he got up, wrapped a blanket around him, and pulled his chair over to the window, looking out onto the street below--the neon sigh outside the hotel, the pool hall across the way, the occasional car, the stoplight at the corner, the little restaurant farther on, closed and locked for the night. He used to think of it as his town, but he didn't think like that anymore."
"As eager as [Kate] had been to look out the [school bus] window before, she did not want to look now. Yet out of the corner of her eye, in the periphery, where trouble begins, she could make out the single cottonwood tree, then the Norton's barn..."
As I tell my own children and our students, I was in the lucky fifty percent: There was a fifty-fifty chance I was destined to kill myself or someone else, back when I was a high school student, and then a college student, who often drank and drove. All those times, and I never killed anybody. In fact, I never even got pulled over or dented a fender.
But there were certainly some nights when I was so blind drunk that I wouldn't have been able to remember the next morning even if I HAD been pulled over. As they say, "There but for the grace of God go I."
Zeke, now 29, was not in the lucky fifty percent with me. It is March 1941, nine months before Pearl Harbor, and Zeke has just been released from prison early for good behavior, after spending three years incarcerated for a crime he cannot remember committing.
He was that drunk when it happened.
Kate is the still-bitter teenage daughter of the town's country doctor, whose mother was killed on the way home from choir practice when Zeke's car ran the stop sign near the Norton's barn. It took two hours to extricate her mother's body from the wreck. In Kate's mind, she would dearly love to give Zeke a couple of hours of his own medicine. And, as we can guess, Kate will somehow be given that opportunity. \
"Hadn't anybody else ever made a mistake? Hadn't anyone else in the jury ever run a red light? Hadn't the judge ever rolled past a stop sign? The difference, of course, was that his mistake has cost a life, and he was sure sorry about that. But the fact was that any of their mistakes could have cost a life too. They just hadn't, that's all. He wasn't one whit a better man for having been in prison than he was before. Just a little angrier, that's all.
The catalyst for bringing Kate and Zeke into close range is a violent winter storm that really did take place--and took a tragic toll--in March 1941 in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota.
"To Kate, it seemed that the wind was on fiercely intimate terms with her, licking at her eyelids with an insistent tongue, probing under the edge of the red flannel scarf as though trying to uncover her neck, forcing itself up the sleeves of her heavy jacket, despite the sweater she wore beneath. Kate kept going."
It takes a killer blizzard for us to see the other side of Kate Sterling. This is actually a bright, observant, and courageous girl who--for a reason we later discover--has been unable to escape from the darkness that the unexpected loss of her mother has cast over her.
"Outside, in the blizzard's wake, life itself seemed frozen. No birds flew, no snow fell, no cars moved, no children played. Even the wind had lost its breath. The white earth lay stunned beneath a heavy white sky."
And in that blizzard's wake, Kate has to come to terms with the fact that nothing she does or doesn't do will bring back her mother.
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has written a book that magnificently poses questions about punishment and revenge and forgiveness. There are entertaining details about country living sixty years ago. And there is just enough tension to make 10-14 year olds hold their breath, wondering what Kate is going to do next.
" 'So, what do you want to do, Kate? Kill him?' Jesse asked simply.
"Kate didn't answer."
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
"Inside the forlorn station a man in a wrinkled shirt studied Zeke from behind the counter. Zeke knew that even if Dwayne's phone were working, he wouldn't try calling him at eleven forty-five at night.
" 'What time do you close?' he asked the ticket agent.
" 'Long as the buses keep comin', I'm open,' the man in the wrinkled shirt said.
" 'Any objection to me waiting out the night in a chair over there?'
" 'What bus you waitin' on?'
" 'No bus. Had a change of plans, and my ride won't be here till morning.
" 'Well, you're welcome to a chair, but it can't be all that comfortable, seeing as how you just got off a bus. There's a hotel two blocks away--rooms half price after midnight. Real cheap and you won't get lice or nothing.'
"Zeke thought it over as the man gave directions. 'Out the door there, turn left, two blocks down, it'll be on the right.'
"A shower and a bed would feel good, Zeke decided. Why not?
"Once in the room, however, he could not sleep. He showered, put on his shorts and undershirt again, and crawled under the covers, but his body seemed restless, wired.
"At two thirty he got up, wrapped a blanket around him, and pulled his chair over to the window, looking out onto the street below--the neon sigh outside the hotel, the pool hall across the way, the occasional car, the stoplight at the corner, the little restaurant farther on, closed and locked for the night. He used to think of it as his town, but he didn't think like that anymore."
"As eager as [Kate] had been to look out the [school bus] window before, she did not want to look now. Yet out of the corner of her eye, in the periphery, where trouble begins, she could make out the single cottonwood tree, then the Norton's barn..."
As I tell my own children and our students, I was in the lucky fifty percent: There was a fifty-fifty chance I was destined to kill myself or someone else, back when I was a high school student, and then a college student, who often drank and drove. All those times, and I never killed anybody. In fact, I never even got pulled over or dented a fender.
But there were certainly some nights when I was so blind drunk that I wouldn't have been able to remember the next morning even if I HAD been pulled over. As they say, "There but for the grace of God go I."
Zeke, now 29, was not in the lucky fifty percent with me. It is March 1941, nine months before Pearl Harbor, and Zeke has just been released from prison early for good behavior, after spending three years incarcerated for a crime he cannot remember committing.
He was that drunk when it happened.
Kate is the still-bitter teenage daughter of the town's country doctor, whose mother was killed on the way home from choir practice when Zeke's car ran the stop sign near the Norton's barn. It took two hours to extricate her mother's body from the wreck. In Kate's mind, she would dearly love to give Zeke a couple of hours of his own medicine. And, as we can guess, Kate will somehow be given that opportunity. \
"Hadn't anybody else ever made a mistake? Hadn't anyone else in the jury ever run a red light? Hadn't the judge ever rolled past a stop sign? The difference, of course, was that his mistake has cost a life, and he was sure sorry about that. But the fact was that any of their mistakes could have cost a life too. They just hadn't, that's all. He wasn't one whit a better man for having been in prison than he was before. Just a little angrier, that's all.
The catalyst for bringing Kate and Zeke into close range is a violent winter storm that really did take place--and took a tragic toll--in March 1941 in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota.
"To Kate, it seemed that the wind was on fiercely intimate terms with her, licking at her eyelids with an insistent tongue, probing under the edge of the red flannel scarf as though trying to uncover her neck, forcing itself up the sleeves of her heavy jacket, despite the sweater she wore beneath. Kate kept going."
It takes a killer blizzard for us to see the other side of Kate Sterling. This is actually a bright, observant, and courageous girl who--for a reason we later discover--has been unable to escape from the darkness that the unexpected loss of her mother has cast over her.
"Outside, in the blizzard's wake, life itself seemed frozen. No birds flew, no snow fell, no cars moved, no children played. Even the wind had lost its breath. The white earth lay stunned beneath a heavy white sky."
And in that blizzard's wake, Kate has to come to terms with the fact that nothing she does or doesn't do will bring back her mother.
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has written a book that magnificently poses questions about punishment and revenge and forgiveness. There are entertaining details about country living sixty years ago. And there is just enough tension to make 10-14 year olds hold their breath, wondering what Kate is going to do next.
" 'So, what do you want to do, Kate? Kill him?' Jesse asked simply.
"Kate didn't answer."
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
January 16, 2018
I liked this book because it was about a family who was stuck in a snowed in house with the guy who killed their mother/wife. I would recommend this book if you like reading to find out what happens because this book will leave you on edge. This book is kind of a mix of realistic fiction and historical because it was taken place during the war and these things could actually happen but we have no idea if it actually did.
December 19, 2017
This book was good, It was really dramatic too. I really liked the characters and the story in general I rarely read realist fiction books and that's why i graded it a 3 because i don't really have much to compare it to. My favorite character was Zeke because i feel he was a strong character and it was good.
December 19, 2017
I sort of enjoyed this book. Blizzards Wake is a historical fiction book, I dont really read historical fiction so it was very new to me. I didn't hate it though and I would definitely recommend this book because it is informative and has a great story line. I really liked the part when Kate finally forgave Zeke because it just brought a lot of closure to the book.
January 2, 2026
Good read about the little known blizzard of 1941. Kate and her family are struggling with the loss of her mother. Zeke is looking for a new start. Their lives collide for the second time. A good story on the power of forgiveness.
September 5, 2019
Raw, tender and thoughtful, a story of forgiveness.
March 9, 2020
Probably was too old to read this book, but it was on my book shelf so thought why not! Short and sweet story about a huge blizzard and a girl’s long road to forgiveness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2023
It seemed very dated and did nothing to cool me off on a very hot day.
April 5, 2021
This is a great book for younger readers. It covers grieving a loss and forgiveness. It did not have as many historical references as expected.
February 14, 2017
Murdertown, North Dakota Jamie Jordan, 1st Period
Kate Sterling is a timid, brown-haired, blue-eyed 14 year old girl trying to live a normal life in Grand Forks, North Dakota. But since her mother’s murder in a brutal hit-and-run perpetrated by Ezekiel (Zeke) Dexter, that goal is becoming more and more farfetched every day. Zeke Dexter, a 29 year old man with brown eyes and spiky, jet black hair, is released from the North Dakota State Penitentiary in Bismarck when a blizzard hits on March 14th, 1941. The fact that this book is based on the true event of the Great Plains blizzard which transpired in 1941 adds to the book’s realism, and makes it even scarier and suspenseful when reading the story. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor does a great job of combining action, adventure, and suspense in “Blizzard’s Wake” unlike any other author of young adult fiction I know of. Even though the book is set in 1941, when World War 2 was heating up, I was able to understand the drafting and war topics.
While reading the text, I found that the book is much more different from any book I’ve ever read. The main contrasting factor pertains to the main character, Kate. Most authors would want to make the main character as vibrant and relatable as possible. But I soon discovered that all I could do was pity her. This makes for a much more unique story that’s much more intriguing than other books in the same genre. Another distinction I found was that Zeke, the bane of Kate’s existence, isn’t your normal “bad guy”. Some may not even describe him as a bad guy, considering that he wants to help and apologizes on several occasions throughout the book. Similar to Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, Zeke Dexter isn’t the bad guy for the entire story.
Much of the book’s features are symbolic of something. For instance, Zeke’s dream of becoming a cowboy and moving to rural Montana represents him escaping from his tragic reality. Kate’s bridge project symbolizes both her hatred for Zeke and her love for her mother. These little symbols are scattered throughout the book and it helps build a stronger plot, visualization, and character development.
This book is very realistic because, as melancholy as it sounds, hiding from your mother’s murderer in a small town in North Dakota shared by both of you isn’t the easiest thing to do. It’s especially difficult considering him and his brother’s house is just across the street! But why should you care anything about Zeke? He’s the bad guy, right? Well as the story continues, you come to pity him and heed his every move and word. “I swear I didn’t mean to do nothing”, he says, “Rather had it been me than that poor woman.” This book made me more thankful for the life I’m living, bearing to mind the sad life the main characters, Zeke and Kate, are living.
In conclusion, this book is great for lovers of Young Adult and Realistic Fiction, as well as history enthusiasts. Sure there are some flaws, like ideas that seemed to just linger and ended up staying in the book without being brought up again, or the vague description of characters in the story, but it still has its charm. What it lacks in length, it makes up for in its realistic storyline that induces laughter and tears. Like a friend recounting a breakup to you, “Blizzard’s Wake” will shock you and make you grateful for the life you have.
Kate Sterling is a timid, brown-haired, blue-eyed 14 year old girl trying to live a normal life in Grand Forks, North Dakota. But since her mother’s murder in a brutal hit-and-run perpetrated by Ezekiel (Zeke) Dexter, that goal is becoming more and more farfetched every day. Zeke Dexter, a 29 year old man with brown eyes and spiky, jet black hair, is released from the North Dakota State Penitentiary in Bismarck when a blizzard hits on March 14th, 1941. The fact that this book is based on the true event of the Great Plains blizzard which transpired in 1941 adds to the book’s realism, and makes it even scarier and suspenseful when reading the story. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor does a great job of combining action, adventure, and suspense in “Blizzard’s Wake” unlike any other author of young adult fiction I know of. Even though the book is set in 1941, when World War 2 was heating up, I was able to understand the drafting and war topics.
While reading the text, I found that the book is much more different from any book I’ve ever read. The main contrasting factor pertains to the main character, Kate. Most authors would want to make the main character as vibrant and relatable as possible. But I soon discovered that all I could do was pity her. This makes for a much more unique story that’s much more intriguing than other books in the same genre. Another distinction I found was that Zeke, the bane of Kate’s existence, isn’t your normal “bad guy”. Some may not even describe him as a bad guy, considering that he wants to help and apologizes on several occasions throughout the book. Similar to Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, Zeke Dexter isn’t the bad guy for the entire story.
Much of the book’s features are symbolic of something. For instance, Zeke’s dream of becoming a cowboy and moving to rural Montana represents him escaping from his tragic reality. Kate’s bridge project symbolizes both her hatred for Zeke and her love for her mother. These little symbols are scattered throughout the book and it helps build a stronger plot, visualization, and character development.
This book is very realistic because, as melancholy as it sounds, hiding from your mother’s murderer in a small town in North Dakota shared by both of you isn’t the easiest thing to do. It’s especially difficult considering him and his brother’s house is just across the street! But why should you care anything about Zeke? He’s the bad guy, right? Well as the story continues, you come to pity him and heed his every move and word. “I swear I didn’t mean to do nothing”, he says, “Rather had it been me than that poor woman.” This book made me more thankful for the life I’m living, bearing to mind the sad life the main characters, Zeke and Kate, are living.
In conclusion, this book is great for lovers of Young Adult and Realistic Fiction, as well as history enthusiasts. Sure there are some flaws, like ideas that seemed to just linger and ended up staying in the book without being brought up again, or the vague description of characters in the story, but it still has its charm. What it lacks in length, it makes up for in its realistic storyline that induces laughter and tears. Like a friend recounting a breakup to you, “Blizzard’s Wake” will shock you and make you grateful for the life you have.
September 2, 2016
This book isn't only fiction, but has points where it could be considered historical fiction as well, as it is in the 1900's. Its based from the view of Kate, a 15 year-old girl who loathes her mother's killer: Zeke. It's been three years, her brother and father have moved on, but she's stuck in a constant struggle of a sense of emotionless pain. She's numb to feelings, she can't forgive Zeke, nor does she ever want to. She believes that the only way she can move on and be normal again is for Zeke to die, slow and painfully. She looses friends, and becomes a loner other than the few other misfits in her grade. All of her peers are starting to drive, but she refuses. For the fear that she might one day see Zeke and kill him just as he did to her mother. There's a similarity in Zeke and Kate though; Zeke was intoxicated and wants more than anything to re-do that night. He never would've gotten in that car, and certainly never would've driven. All Kate wants is for her mother back, for time to reverse.
She starts to believe that her mother will come back if she finishes her last and most complicated project: the bridge. It had an intricate structure that she didn't have the time or skill for. She worked on it anyway. One night, she decides to stay home, listen to the radio, and work on the bridge. Her father and brother are out, with her father, who is the only doctor in the country, delivering medication. A terrible storm hits. She has to crank the generator multiple times and prepare for the worst. Meanwhile, Zeke, was let out of jail that night, and is in the storm. Long story short, they meet and Kate saves them all. The storm, in a way, explains both Zeke and Kate's feelings. Kate's are the strong, whipping and whirling winds, the intense ones that take your breath away, and leave you speechless. She's contained it for too long, and it all needs to be let out in one raging emotional storm. Zeke's are the thick, heavy snow that coats you, chilling your body right down to the bone; it makes you feel trapped and useless, like he did.
This book shows to a young audience that it is possible to not forget, but to forgive. It's about recovery and accepting that the dead will remain the dead. Maybe even a child in a similar situation will read this a they will too discover that they can be happy again; that they can go back to how they used to be. It takes a long time, and a lot of work, but recovery truly is possible. Both for the accidental killer and the families of the deceased. In the end, Zeke and Kate let their "storms" out, leave the past as the past, and carry on. Unstuck from the emotionless state, a sense of happiness knowing mother will live on in their hearts, they each take their separate ways. Kate no longer has hatred for Zeke. She can't ever forget what he did, but she sure can forgive him.
She starts to believe that her mother will come back if she finishes her last and most complicated project: the bridge. It had an intricate structure that she didn't have the time or skill for. She worked on it anyway. One night, she decides to stay home, listen to the radio, and work on the bridge. Her father and brother are out, with her father, who is the only doctor in the country, delivering medication. A terrible storm hits. She has to crank the generator multiple times and prepare for the worst. Meanwhile, Zeke, was let out of jail that night, and is in the storm. Long story short, they meet and Kate saves them all. The storm, in a way, explains both Zeke and Kate's feelings. Kate's are the strong, whipping and whirling winds, the intense ones that take your breath away, and leave you speechless. She's contained it for too long, and it all needs to be let out in one raging emotional storm. Zeke's are the thick, heavy snow that coats you, chilling your body right down to the bone; it makes you feel trapped and useless, like he did.
This book shows to a young audience that it is possible to not forget, but to forgive. It's about recovery and accepting that the dead will remain the dead. Maybe even a child in a similar situation will read this a they will too discover that they can be happy again; that they can go back to how they used to be. It takes a long time, and a lot of work, but recovery truly is possible. Both for the accidental killer and the families of the deceased. In the end, Zeke and Kate let their "storms" out, leave the past as the past, and carry on. Unstuck from the emotionless state, a sense of happiness knowing mother will live on in their hearts, they each take their separate ways. Kate no longer has hatred for Zeke. She can't ever forget what he did, but she sure can forgive him.
December 26, 2016
The author of the beloved "Shiloh" trilogy has a gift for choosing details. in "Blizzard's Wake," she vividly captures 1941 North Dakota in the small town of Grand Forks. Told alternately from the viewpoints of 15-year-old Kate, her 11-year-old brother Jesse, their father, Dr. Sterling, and Zeke Dexter, the young man who has spent the last three-and-a-half years in the state penitentiary for killing Mrs. Sterling in a drunken car crash.
Zeke is on early release for good behavior and is headed from Bismarck to the home he shares with his brother, Dwayne. Unbeknownst to him, the house has burned to the ground and his brother no longer lives there. Meanwhile, Kate is trying to pay attention in school and to the conversations of her friends, but bitterness and despair have a tight grip on her. Jesse is gleefully changing the words to patriotic songs with his schoolmates, and Dr. Sterling is making rounds.
What begins as a mild, seemingly carefree Saturday turns into a nightmare for everyone as a blizzard unexpectedly storms into the Red River Valley, stranding people in cars, killing livestock, burying landmarks, and changing the lives of all the characters forever.
The book is sprinkled with brand names and descriptions of 1940s household appliances and procedures. The spreading war in Europe looms as a character offstage, making everyone worry about what lies ahead.
The book keenly portrays the different ways family members deal with the loss of a loved one, as well as the stark consequences living in an American penal system can have on the psyche of a person.
The author allows growth in the characters, always plausible, but never too much to be believed. Zeke doesn't become a wonderful, warm person; Kate doesn't exactly wake up one day and realize how sick her grief and guilt and hatred are making her. There are moments of personal redemption and human decency exchanged between all the characters. Some of these small gestures carry more impact than the larger stretches for symbolism such as the dead mother's unfinished masterpiece, a miniature replica of the Brooklyn Bridge made from toothpicks and broomstraws.
As she did in the "Shiloh" books, Reynolds Naylor pulls readers in immediately. With realist dialogue, well-crafted prose, and a plot filled with quiet suspense, this story is a keeper. I devoured the book in two long sittings on my Christmas holiday from work. The snow in my backyard is grey and dirty from several meltings and refreezings coupled with two days of rain. The thermometer says we haven't gone much below twenty degrees. The highest wind gust wasn't even ten miles an hour. Still, I found myself thankful for my furnace, hot running water, and the men and women who work to clear our roads when winter weather does find its way into our lives.
Zeke is on early release for good behavior and is headed from Bismarck to the home he shares with his brother, Dwayne. Unbeknownst to him, the house has burned to the ground and his brother no longer lives there. Meanwhile, Kate is trying to pay attention in school and to the conversations of her friends, but bitterness and despair have a tight grip on her. Jesse is gleefully changing the words to patriotic songs with his schoolmates, and Dr. Sterling is making rounds.
What begins as a mild, seemingly carefree Saturday turns into a nightmare for everyone as a blizzard unexpectedly storms into the Red River Valley, stranding people in cars, killing livestock, burying landmarks, and changing the lives of all the characters forever.
The book is sprinkled with brand names and descriptions of 1940s household appliances and procedures. The spreading war in Europe looms as a character offstage, making everyone worry about what lies ahead.
The book keenly portrays the different ways family members deal with the loss of a loved one, as well as the stark consequences living in an American penal system can have on the psyche of a person.
The author allows growth in the characters, always plausible, but never too much to be believed. Zeke doesn't become a wonderful, warm person; Kate doesn't exactly wake up one day and realize how sick her grief and guilt and hatred are making her. There are moments of personal redemption and human decency exchanged between all the characters. Some of these small gestures carry more impact than the larger stretches for symbolism such as the dead mother's unfinished masterpiece, a miniature replica of the Brooklyn Bridge made from toothpicks and broomstraws.
As she did in the "Shiloh" books, Reynolds Naylor pulls readers in immediately. With realist dialogue, well-crafted prose, and a plot filled with quiet suspense, this story is a keeper. I devoured the book in two long sittings on my Christmas holiday from work. The snow in my backyard is grey and dirty from several meltings and refreezings coupled with two days of rain. The thermometer says we haven't gone much below twenty degrees. The highest wind gust wasn't even ten miles an hour. Still, I found myself thankful for my furnace, hot running water, and the men and women who work to clear our roads when winter weather does find its way into our lives.
Read
June 3, 2015Have you ever lived a life full of anger and tried to do plenty of the things to make your life better. If so, your not alone.The genre of this book is realistic fiction.In my opinion this book i really enjoyed because I know for a fact that Kate isn't the only one that has lost her life to grief and anger. I really liked this book because I feel that I've been in her position before because Kate has been threw so much stuff in her life like her mother that had died in a car accident, and me I lost my grandmother threw cancer.
This story basically takes place a little bit every where but basically outside in the blizzard in 1941. Kate mother was killed by a drunk driver one day by a boy named Zeke Dexter and everything just started to change like Kate start to change a lot and her sibling Jesse's by her attitude and everything and jesse have a hard time concentration at work in stuff. Kate and jesse also have a hard time because everything ion the house kinda reminded her of her mother which always brong her eyes to tears . Zeke is coming back home in the sad thing is he has to come back home to a burnt down abandoned house in know he has no where to lay his head.In all Kate wants is to go back to a normal life but it is kinda hard because she really misses her mom because her mom was her everything. I think this is a Person vs Person conflict because she know blames everything on herself in the world every since her mother died.
An interesting thing that I learned from this book is if anything ever was to happen to you or anybody in your family never hate the world for it or take your anger out on anybody cause all that does is make the problem worse in make more people in things get even worse than it already is. For example in the book it talked about when Kate mother died she started to change towards everybody in gave up on the world.
I loved the fact that the character changed he way by instead of holding all that anger in grief in she finally started to understand in get that holding all that anger inside of her wasn't going to do anything but make the fact that her mother passed away even worse than it already is, so i liked the way the way the character actually did that.
I truly loved this book so i will give this book a 4 because it really reminded me of myself a little bit when I had lost one of my best grandmothers in the world. I would recommend this book to precious because I think she would really love this book because she loves books with happy endings in when people succeed in life instead of holding anger inside of you.
T
This story basically takes place a little bit every where but basically outside in the blizzard in 1941. Kate mother was killed by a drunk driver one day by a boy named Zeke Dexter and everything just started to change like Kate start to change a lot and her sibling Jesse's by her attitude and everything and jesse have a hard time concentration at work in stuff. Kate and jesse also have a hard time because everything ion the house kinda reminded her of her mother which always brong her eyes to tears . Zeke is coming back home in the sad thing is he has to come back home to a burnt down abandoned house in know he has no where to lay his head.In all Kate wants is to go back to a normal life but it is kinda hard because she really misses her mom because her mom was her everything. I think this is a Person vs Person conflict because she know blames everything on herself in the world every since her mother died.
An interesting thing that I learned from this book is if anything ever was to happen to you or anybody in your family never hate the world for it or take your anger out on anybody cause all that does is make the problem worse in make more people in things get even worse than it already is. For example in the book it talked about when Kate mother died she started to change towards everybody in gave up on the world.
I loved the fact that the character changed he way by instead of holding all that anger in grief in she finally started to understand in get that holding all that anger inside of her wasn't going to do anything but make the fact that her mother passed away even worse than it already is, so i liked the way the way the character actually did that.
I truly loved this book so i will give this book a 4 because it really reminded me of myself a little bit when I had lost one of my best grandmothers in the world. I would recommend this book to precious because I think she would really love this book because she loves books with happy endings in when people succeed in life instead of holding anger inside of you.
T
October 6, 2013
No one in the Red River Valley of North Dakota knew that a blizzard was on its way the afternoon of March 15, 1941. A revised forecast didn’t reach the newspapers until the evening edition, so many people were caught out shopping and enjoying other weekend activities.
Zeke Dexter, just released from prison the day before, travels by bus from Bismarck to Grand Forks. The afternoon of the fifteenth, Zeke hitches a ride from Grand Forks to the road a few miles from his house near Mekinock. A light snow is falling, as Zeke sets off walking. At that same time, Doctor Sterling and his son Jesse are finishing house calls in and around Grand Forks. When Kate Sterling sees the light snow falling, she puts a kerosene lamp in the kitchen window. Her father and brother are within sight of the house but not quite to the lane. They can see the lamp in the window. Suddenly, a wall of snow hits the car. A shrill whistle of wind comes through the windows. They can’t see to drive any further. For next few hours, Zeke, Doc Sterling, and Jesse fight to survive the extreme cold. Zeke is about to give up when he stumbles on the Sterling’s car. As the doctor examines Zeke for frostbite, he realizes that he is helping the drunk driver who killed his wife 3 years before. Meanwhile, Kate, who saw the headlights of her father’s car just before the snow hid them, devises a rescue plan. She reaches the car, and finds the one man in the world she has vowed to never forgive. This chance encounter and the months that follow change all of their lives forever. This is an awesome book! The message of redemption and forgiveness mixes with a very suspenseful plot. The violence of the blizzard parallels Kate’s feelings about the man who killed her mother. Naylor makes the characters and their experiences quite believable.
Zeke Dexter, just released from prison the day before, travels by bus from Bismarck to Grand Forks. The afternoon of the fifteenth, Zeke hitches a ride from Grand Forks to the road a few miles from his house near Mekinock. A light snow is falling, as Zeke sets off walking. At that same time, Doctor Sterling and his son Jesse are finishing house calls in and around Grand Forks. When Kate Sterling sees the light snow falling, she puts a kerosene lamp in the kitchen window. Her father and brother are within sight of the house but not quite to the lane. They can see the lamp in the window. Suddenly, a wall of snow hits the car. A shrill whistle of wind comes through the windows. They can’t see to drive any further. For next few hours, Zeke, Doc Sterling, and Jesse fight to survive the extreme cold. Zeke is about to give up when he stumbles on the Sterling’s car. As the doctor examines Zeke for frostbite, he realizes that he is helping the drunk driver who killed his wife 3 years before. Meanwhile, Kate, who saw the headlights of her father’s car just before the snow hid them, devises a rescue plan. She reaches the car, and finds the one man in the world she has vowed to never forgive. This chance encounter and the months that follow change all of their lives forever. This is an awesome book! The message of redemption and forgiveness mixes with a very suspenseful plot. The violence of the blizzard parallels Kate’s feelings about the man who killed her mother. Naylor makes the characters and their experiences quite believable.
July 26, 2017
This is probably the best book about forgiveness that is accessible to younger readers that I've ever read. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor does an excellent job of giving legitimacy and showing the depth of Kate's feelings, as she is led from anger, resentment, guilt, and anger into the beginnings of forgiveness, acceptance, and peace. What I particularly liked is that she is never judged for her feelings, but the people that love her and her own experiences help lead her into healing. Very beautiful.
That said, I probably won't ever re-read this book. It felt a little predictable and slow-paced wasn't entirely gripping. Thus three stars.
Recommendation: I'd give it to upper elementary or middle school kids. The main character is a girl, but I think it could have appeal to both boys and girls. It has some survivalist overtones, so I'd give it fans of Hatchet or Life As We Knew It. I'd also give to kids that like historical fiction like Out of the Dust, Caddie Woodlawn, or Our Only May Amelia.
That said, I probably won't ever re-read this book. It felt a little predictable and slow-paced wasn't entirely gripping. Thus three stars.
Recommendation: I'd give it to upper elementary or middle school kids. The main character is a girl, but I think it could have appeal to both boys and girls. It has some survivalist overtones, so I'd give it fans of Hatchet or Life As We Knew It. I'd also give to kids that like historical fiction like Out of the Dust, Caddie Woodlawn, or Our Only May Amelia.
August 15, 2012
In this book blizzards wake,Phyllis theme that he emphasizes through this novel is forgiveness,adventure and natural disaster.What Phyllis is trying to say is that even after someone had committed a crime,people haven't forgot about the person, especially the family members.The world view this author has created in my mind is that one shall be given a second chance to live ones life in a place where their face is known only because of ones foolishness actions which is bad.Like for example, Zeke dexter has killed Kate's mom and when zeke get out of jail,meeting up with the dad and son of the mother he killed has brought a idea that maybe they should forgive him and help him considering he is laying there in snow,he has suffered enough.One part that made me feel uncomfortable is when Katie see's dexter for the first time and freaks and thinks stuff.This made me feel this way because forgiveness is the key and she didnt greet him the way i thought she would.I recommend this book because its about ones revenge but feeling change and although it went slow as to telling what happened,its still a great book and the outcome is surprising.
February 28, 2015
This is a work of historical fiction taken place over the course of the killer blizzard of 1941. Two of the main characters are Kate Sterling and her brother Jesse, both of whose mother was hit and killed on impact by a drunk driver 4 years before. Kate is still in mourning, still experiencing hatred of the drunk driver Zeke Dexter, despite trying to convince herself she's above revenge. She isn't. SHe is still impacted by it every day, the goodbyes she was never able to say, the projects left unfinished, the objects around the house that bring back memories. Kate is undeniably still in mourning, seeking for closure that she cannot find. When Zeke Dexter is released a few years before his scheduled release from prison, he returns to his town, the town in which he killed Kate and Jesse's mother. He has no where else to go, even though he knows he is no longer welcome in the town.
The blizzard appears seemingly out of nowhere on a nice warm day, with no news apprehending it on the radio. It catches the town unawares, and it literally blows Zeke into the however cold care of the Sterling family. Could Zeke Dexter hold the key to Kate's closure?
The blizzard appears seemingly out of nowhere on a nice warm day, with no news apprehending it on the radio. It catches the town unawares, and it literally blows Zeke into the however cold care of the Sterling family. Could Zeke Dexter hold the key to Kate's closure?
May 11, 2018
This book is Historical Fiction I did not enjoy this book as much I have liked books more than this one. If you are interested in books that have weird relationships and making up with people after terrible things happen and like when people forgive each other. Than this book is the book for you, if not this may not be the book for you. I did not like this book as much because I tried to put myself in this situation and I do not think it would have happened how it did. It is about a man who kills this families mom and they are extremely upset with him, as he was drinking and driving. But in a terrible Blizzard they find him out in the cold by himself in terrible condition. Find out how they control this situation and what happens after the storm. I honestly did not like this type of genre because I feel as if everything happened so slow. I am more of a reader for it to go faster than it did.
February 3, 2012
There was about two main characters that this book focuses around. Mostly it is about Kate and her copping with her mother's death by being hit by a drunkard. That drunkard is actually the second one that it talks about as the story opens who is Zeke. Zeke Floyd Dexter, sentenced for prision and got an early released. Trying to start fresh. Kate who just can't move on.
I really liked how the her dad knew what to do to keep them survived and how there was the "bridge" that Kate wanted to finish for her mother. This book didn't hit me all to well, but in some parts I just had to be on Kate's side then on Zeke's side.
This book is one of those who are just that there are many MANY things you can't move on about but keeping them in hurts much more. And when that time comes, you just have to let go and face the future.
I really liked how the her dad knew what to do to keep them survived and how there was the "bridge" that Kate wanted to finish for her mother. This book didn't hit me all to well, but in some parts I just had to be on Kate's side then on Zeke's side.
This book is one of those who are just that there are many MANY things you can't move on about but keeping them in hurts much more. And when that time comes, you just have to let go and face the future.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews