Dazzled by Books

Initial reaction: What did I just read?

Second reaction: Hmmm

Third Reaction: I so don't know.

"The Winter People" by Rebekah L. Purdy completely baffles me and I'm not totally sure it is in a positive way. I enjoyed the book for the most part but as it started coming to a close, I was so completely lost almost. I felt very rushed and then I felt like..."Okay, that was it?" I feel like the beginning of the book dragged on forever  because it was so slow and hen the end was just completely rushed. I had no idea what was really going to happen. I began to  feel very disconnected from the characters.

This novel is about a young girl that needs to break a curse. She doesn't know about this curse or why she needs to break it. That is for her to discover all on her own. Salome falls into a pond when she is six years old and almost drowns. Then she is scared away from the bond forever. Salome thinks she is going crazy especially since that is how the shrink makes her feel. Hearing voices when she goes out side and seeing shadows of a person trying to get her every winter is starting to get old but Salome can't seem to get over her fear of winter. What is she going to do?  Then she meets some boys that just make her life even more complicated and she has to decide who she really wants?

The plot was interesting from the get go. I wanted to know what was after Salome. I didn't feel like the story was scary at all though. It seemed like at some points the author wanted to make this scary scene but it really wasn't scary. It wasn't really a thriller type scene either. For the most part this novel is very chill. Like I said earlier, the first part of the book was really slow. It seemed like it dragged on and everything was kind of repeating itself. Shadowy figure tries to attack girl then girl is saved. It was over and over again and Salome and Nevin's conversations and interactions seemed repetitive too.

Then the reader is out of winter and Spring, Summer, and Fall are all summed up in one chapter each. I felt like it was very rushed because the following winter when everything is truly supposed to go down it is summed up into two chapters. I was left sitting in my chair feeling a little dumb founded.

The characters were okay. I liked Salome and Gareth the best because those are the two characters I really got to know. Colton and Nevin were there and they were a part of the story but I wasn't really given a whole lot of information about them.  I knew Nevin was arrogant and that Colton was a little bipolar but other than that....nothing. I feel like this story is good but it could have been a whole lot better. I think the author could have accomplished the same storyline but maybe made the beginning less wordy and the end a little slower. I did think it was a good read for a rainy day...not nessesarily my next beach read though.