Snowed In

I came across Rachel Hawthorne’s Snowed In a couple of weeks ago during an ebook special run by HarperTeen (which is still going on as of this writing). I figured, “Hey, it looks cute! And it takes place in Michigan!” – which just happens to be home to half of my family – so I decided to give Snowed In a try. Was it as cute as I thought? Let’s investigate.

What I Loved

The Norman Rockwell Setting: Not only does Snowed In take place in Michigan, it takes place in one of my favorite parts of the mitten state – Mackinac Island (pronounced Mak-in-aw). Even though I’ve only visited the island once it is one of my fondest memories, so seeing it through Ashleigh’s eyes (albeit in winter) was like visiting it all over again – show more the fudge shops, the Grand Hotel, no cars, etc. (they do have GREAT fudge). Hayrides, sleigh taxis, cross-country skiing, hot cocoa (or at least coffee!) – all of it worked together to create a picture-perfect setting of modern-day teens against a Norman Rockwell background. This really made the story work for me.

What I Liked

Interesting Dynamics: It was very nice to see happy, loving family dynamics between Ashleigh and her mom, and Josh and his dad; both families were down-to-earth and oh-so-normal, which felt refreshing after some of the books I’ve read recently. Things got interesting, however, as I started getting into the relationships amongst the teens – romantic and otherwise. The way Nathalie never called her boyfriend or best friends by name, Ashleigh’s attempts not to step on her friend’s toes when she finds herself in the role of “the other woman,” Josh trying not to hurt anyone’s feelings even though he wanted something different, Tara and Shaun’s “married-couple” dynamic of Tara’s exuberance balanced by Shaun’s quiet/supportive nature, ladies-man Chase pining for the girl he can’t have – all the different relationship issues kept things interesting and prevented staleness from setting in.

Ashleigh’s Quirks: I definitely related to Ashleigh’s lack of pep in the mornings, and the way she couldn’t get moving without coffee (a LOT of coffee). Her film tastes gave an interesting twist to the narrative, and a touch of humor, as she looked at a lot of situations in the context of her favorite type of movie. The only thing I wasn’t keen on was her “love ‘em and leave ‘em” attitude; of course meeting the right guy put a kink in her normal relationship formula and left her struggling to adjust, which I guess was the point.

The Story “Atmosphere:” By this I mean author Rachel Hawthorne paints the scenes vividly enough that I felt the chill of heading out into the snow for an adventure and then the warmth of snuggling in front of a cozy fire with hot cocoa. This book “feels” like a perfect winter-time read; I don’t see myself sitting on the beach and pulling out Snowed In, but curled up in a chair with the heat blowing through the vents and a coffee at my side seems just right.

What I Didn’t Like

Lack of Originality: Other than the setting, there really isn’t anything about the characters or events in the story to make Snowed In stand out from the crowd. This is not to say it isn’t entertaining (because it definitely is); there just isn’t a lot of depth or any unexpected surprises to make the story pop.

Conclusion

Rachel Hawthorne’s Snowed In definitely lived up to its cuteness potential with its group of normal teens working out their relationship woes amid all kinds of winter wonderland bliss (hayrides, sleigh rides, and cross-country skiing with a hot guy). There’s nothing deep or lasting in the story, but if you are in the mood for a light, romantic read when cold weather hits then you might want to add Snowed In to your reading shelf. show less

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

How would you like to move from Texas, where an ice storm is a major news story, to a remote island in the Great Lakes that has no cars, but does have store signs that say "Return after the first thaw"? And to find out that the junior class will have a mere six students when the winter break is over?

Ashleigh's parents are recently divorced, and to make a clean start, Ashleigh and her mother have moved to a small island to open a bed and breakfast named Chateau Ashleigh. Their first day in town, Nathalie and her mom come and introduce themselves. Ashleigh immediately has a new friend.

Through Nathalie, Ashleigh explores her new town and meets various kids her own age. Of particular interest is Chase, show more who works at the local fudge shop. Nathalie warns Ashleigh that Chase is a player, but Ashleigh isn't too worried about that. She's just looking to make some new friends and fit in.

One morning, Ashleigh wakes up to find a strange boy knocking on her bedroom door. In enters Josh, the son of the local handyman. Ashleigh's mom has hired them to help do some general repairs around their new house to get it ready for patrons. Ashleigh is immediately drawn to Josh, and a tentative friendship forms.

However, it turns out that Josh is actually Nathalie's boyfriend. Nathalie, however, never refers to him by name, only as "my boyfriend." Ashleigh finds this odd but respects the boundaries and doesn't pursue Josh. As the story develops, Ashleigh suspects that Chase has romantic interests in Nathalie, Nathalie might not really like Josh, just the idea of a boyfriend, and could Josh possibly be interested in her???

As the winter months on her new island home pass, Ashleigh finds that she likes the quaintness of her new life, and maybe the move might just have been the best thing for her.

I always enjoy Ms. Hawthorne's stories, and this was no exception. I'll admit that I would never want to live on such a cold island during the winter. But Ms. Hawthorne has a way with describing all the charm of the village and almost makes me want to go there, too! Watching the tentative romance develop between Ashleigh and Josh make the story very appealing to all. show less

Well I just needed to read a cute winter/holiday romance kind of book but this one was so plain and simple it felt like I didn't even read anything.

cute.

A quick fun read. really enjoyed it.

I love this Rachel Hawthorne book more than The Boyfriend League. This is so much more enjoyable to read!