Howl at the moon

While spring is apparently here, at least according to the timelords, let's catch up with a review from last fall about a winter book. Since my circadian rhythm is all out of funk, it only seems apropos to have a chaos of seasons colliding in today's review. We are going to be checking in with the last novel in the Great North Woods series.

Snow Rising by Shawn Underhill

I was sad to read the author's note on the back about this being the last book. For a while. Maybe. He has run out of ways to take the story. And I must agree that this is probably true. We had excellent resolution here, but I love these characters and this concept of shape-shifters (I refuse to use the word werewolves with these spiritual, majestic creatures). I do extremely appreciate his honesty that he is tapped. Oh, how I wish some other authors would have been willing to admit they were bled dry and refused to publish sub-par narrative.

While we started this series with Evie running head long into her family secret, we have come a long way down the rabbit hole. The story is now more centralized around the Snow family in general, and their family feud of Hatfield-McCoy standards. The future has come hunting for the Snows, and they must find a way to face their problems head on, as hiding has become moot. We know fanatics in history have dabbled with these very experiments given this novel a chill of realism. 

This story line could easily be happening today just as the narrative pictures it, and it is why I love this series. The transition from a coming-of-age story to sci-fi-esque battleground is remarkably subtle. After reflecting back on the series, this is not the direction I would have foreseen this series taking. Kudos to the author. 

I will give this 5 stars for the following: clear plot completion, hopes of more stories to come if we all love them enough, and swinging the story arc in a direction I never would have guessed with a young adult protagonist in book one.