Hi friends and happy Friday! I hope you’ve all had a good first week of the year! Today I’m posting my review of Waubgeshig Rice’s novel Moon of the Crusted Snow.

This novel was longlisted for Canada Reads 2023

Moon of the Crusted Snow by: Waubgeshig Rice: Evan lives with his Anishinaabe family and community in Northern Ontario. When winter looms on the horizon, the power is cut and all communication is down. He and the town leaders help try to figure out the problem, but they soon realize that a resolution is far from being found. It’s not long before tensions run high and people start to panic. Then to top it off, a stranger has arrived, wanting to join the community, claiming he wants to help, but he soon starts to manipulate the town instead. This novel takes the reader on a journey of persevering through tough times and collapse of a society. Combining thriller with folklore, this was a slow moving, yet chilling read. Taking place in the colder and winter months really gave this atmospheric read an even colder touch. Not only were we chilled by the weather but the things that were happening definitely were gripping with fright; fighting for survival in the dead of winter in multiple ways. Rice was very descriptive in his writing and that’s what really immersed the reader into this world. We felt like we were part of the family and part of the community he had created. He gave great details to each of the characters so that they were memorable, but because this novel was so short, it didn’t feel like we had enough time to really get to know everyone, especially some who weren’t around long. The reader enjoyed reading about the folklore and learning about the wendigo, an Algonquian First Nations folklore. It was so interesting, captivating and slightly horrifying. The only thing the reader wanted was more from this world; this felt like it ended too soon; the pace was moving at a slower pace until we reached the end and we learned about what was going on, then all of a sudden it felt like the story ended and characters were moving on. The characters were extremely raw and real; the ambiguity of our antagonist was really well done because the reader never knew what to make of him. Was he truly a person who wanted to help, or was he gas-lighting all these people for his own purpose? The reader was so invested in this character and where it would go. They also enjoyed reading about our main character, Evan, we didn’t really learn too much about him, but what stuck out to the reader was his family and friends and how he put everyone first; his love for them made learning about them through him a heartwarming experience. Overall, this was a thrilling and well written novel that they couldn’t put down.