My Rating: 3 Stars
Midwinter Folk by Rebekah Clayton
Published by Troubador Book Publishing
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 331
Format: kindle
Also by this author: /
Back Cover Blurb:
When Rowan’s parents divorce, her brother Luke turns ‘cold and strange’, and suddenly Rowan starts hearing voices. Is someone stalking her or is she going mad? London is caught in the grip of the coldest winter on record. The Thames freezes over and the streets are half-buried by snow.
Rowan soon realises that Luke has been snared by the enemy; the voracious Hunters who want ‘power over all’, and finds that she is running for her life across the increasingly bizarre landscape of the frozen city. It takes a journey into the treacherous depths of Midwinter to save not only Luke, but all that she holds dear.
My Review:
Rebekah Clayton's fantasy novel follows Rowan, a young girl who lives in London with her mother and brother. In the midst of an incredibly cold winter, Rowan's brother starts acting weird and she starts being followed and attacked by spooky creatures. Soon, she goes on a dangerous adventure that will take her many wondrous places and into more than one world.
I was ready to love this book but unfortunately, I just can't. There are too many things about it that I can't disregard. Thankfully, there were also quite a few things I did enjoy, so I thought I'd first talk about those and then get into the issues.
Things I liked:
1. The story is engaging from the get go. And the fast pace keeps it that way. From the first page, it got my attention and spiked my curiosity. It made me want to keep reading to see what would happen to Rowan.
2. The setting is magical and Rebekah Clayton does such a lovely job with the descriptions. She paints a vivid picture of a winter landscape which is beautiful and deadly. Some of those scenes made me feel like a child reading Narnia for the first time.
Things I struggled with:
1. Is this a children's book or is this YA? I'm not entirely sure. At first glance, this is definitely a children's book. Young protagonist who's innocent and good gets thrown into a Narniaesque world of adventures. But Clayton constantly tackles some more mature issues that are honestly way too intense for a children’s book. Seriously, I’m not one to say that lightly. I don't believe children should be overprotected or shielded from anything and everything. But, I do believe they shouldn't be exposed to abuse, rape, and more, all in one book. (Those themes could be toned out a lot to reach the right audience.) This confusion means I can't recommend it as a children's book due to some of its mature themes and I also can't recommend it as a YA book because so much of the story is set up for children.
2. While reading, I often felt like the story wasn't fleshed out enough. I kept waiting for things to get explained but some of them never were. Or were given such a thin explanation that I was left wanting more. Why is Rowan the Durae? Why is the world the way it is? What is this ancient fight she's thrown into? I kept feeling hungry for more and I just didn't get it.
3. It often felt like the book jumped from one scene to the other without much of a transition, leaving me to try to figure out what was going on for a few paragraphs, sometimes rereading a page a few times until I finally got the context. That could just be a me problem but I think having smoother transitions would've not only made the reading experience better, it might have also helped flesh out the story and set up clearer connections between events.
Conclusion:
So here you go. I almost loved Midwinter Folk. Clayton sets up a compelling story and I could've honestly disregarded most of my issues with the book if I wasn't constantly confused by its intended audience.
I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
