Winter Town

by Stephen Emond

[Joséphine]

In and of itself I would've given the novel merely two stars. I gave the third star for the illustrations and their fitting integration into the book. Either way, I wasn't impressed by the style of writing, plot or characterization. Overall, "Winter Town" fell so flat for me, I was actually relieved to reach the end. Thankfully there were redeeming moments which prevented me from chucking the book entirely. Of course there were the illustrations. Then there was the switch in perspective from Evan to Lucy, even though the author chose to stick to narrating in third person. The switch made reading a little more refreshing as it allowed the reader to see what both Evan and Lucy were all about. The attempt to show both Evan's and Lucy's worlds in a bid to reconcile their relationship lent the book its redeeming quality.

Sadly, the negatives were glaring throughout. For one, there seemed to be little direction. Either that or Evan's own lack of direction overpowered the narrative. There was an uneasy awkwardness to the writing too. It lacked substance in that it glossed a lot over the surface.