Status Updates From The Cold is in Her Bones

“People blamed other people for all sorts of things.”
Literally the perfect ending to this story. Nothing tied up neatly in a bow. Nothing fake or forced. It’s honest and messy and realistic.

“I was brought up to please. To please my mother and father, and then to please your father. Because that’s what women do. That’s how we live, how we survive.”
Heartbreaking and accurate.

“The farm looked faded like a dress forgotten in the sun.”
I love this writing style. The similes are visceral and realistic for Milla to think of.

“And then she remembered how it was taken from her. How aloneness became loneliness. And how loneliness became pain and then pain became terror and then terror became hate. And hate became monstrosity.”

“Did they feel sorry for calling me a witch and taking what was mine? They got what they deserved. They wanted a witch, and I gave them one.”

Chapter 27

“In my story, they get eaten because they followed the rules.”
“That’s a twist,” Milla said.
“All those stories about doing what witches tell you are silly. Why would you do what a witch tells you?”

Chapter 23
I am devouring this book. I can’t predict what will happen moment to moment. I can’t put it down!

Chapter 9
As a YA novel told from isolated Milla's perspective, the writing is simple and direct. Flowery metaphors would feel unnatural. The author uses grounded similes like eyes "bright and dark like syrup" which embrace a fairytale simplicity, using high-contrast sensory details rather than more academic prose. The writing style is effective for this kind of story. It evokes classic fairytale to me.

Chapter 7 typo
“ Trude…. Pulled Iris inside.” Nope. She pulled Milla inside.

“Iris went blank. So blank. So blank it was as if Iris weren’t there anymore…”
Some have left bad reviews of this book because of this repetitive prose, but it's perfect psychological realism for a sheltered teen. When overwhelmed by shock, the human brain doesn't think logically—it loops and stutters. The author deliberately uses this rhythm to pull the reader right into her cognitive freeze.

Chapter 4

Chapter 3. So far dark, creepy and well written.

I give up. The way the book is written is really grating on me.

I don't think I've heard an author mention the main character's name so many times in such a short time. It's literally almost every sentence. Incredibly annoying, especially in audiobook version. And it makes the story sound more child oriented.