The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Release: October 6th 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Source: Netgalley

Synopsis:

Mila, her sisters, and her brother, Oskar, live in a small forest cabin, surviving in a world gripped by frost and snow.

When a mysterious man shows up on her doorstep, Mila and her family grant him shelter for the night. But in the morning, the man is gone—and he’s taken Oskar with them.

Determined to save their brother, Mila and her sisters set out on a mission to rescue him. But challenges await them at every turn: wolves with the speed of demons, tempestuous gold, an untrustworthy mage—and always the relentless, stinging freeze of winter.

The Way Past Winter Review:

A BIG Thank You to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for providing me an advanced reader’s copy of “The Way Past Winter” for my review.

What a beautiful story! It is one of those books that makes you appreciate nature. Living in a commercial world, at times we fail to see realize that even Mother Nature has a life which we take for granted and misuse. The author has beautifully highlighted how important it is for us to maintain the balance and give back to nature.

Mila is a wonderful protagonist who is willing to go till the end to save her family. Pipa is adorable as the feisty sidekick sister. I really liked how she stood up to Mila and protected her even if Mila protested. She also made the book lighthearted with her humor. Also, Rune was great as the mysterious character who helps them in their journey. The author really has a beautiful tone in her writing. The story is magical, beautiful, scary, adventurous, humorous, and though provoking. You never know what to expect or who the villain could be as the main villain possesses others to do his work.

My only criticism to the story is if knew the history of some character. I really liked Rune in this book but felt that he was still a mystery in some ways. Same for Mila’s father. The father seems like an interesting character, and I was hoping to read more about him and his scenes when the bear attacked him. For some reason, the story felt a bit incomplete because I felt like I really didn’t know the characters to really understand them.

But apart from that, I really enjoyed this tale. If you like to read a good fantasy, adventure middle grade novel, you will enjoy reading this book.