FrostFire by Jamie Smith - OPTIONAL

FrostFire by Jamie Smith, 256 pages.  Chicken House (Scholastic), 2019.  $19.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Sabira’s older brother Kyran should have bonded with a frostsliver, but a party from their evil adjacent country ruined his chances. Then Kyran disappeared into the snow-covered mountains and is presumed dead.  Now its Sabira’s chance to bond with a frostsliver, but in her hesitation she loses her chance.  Before she can descend the mountain and admit her failing, she and her guardians are over come by a huge avalanche.  Sabira’s only chance to rescue herself and the remaining guardian is to bond with a foreign frostsliver and find a path through the heart of the glacier.

Unfortunately I didn’t feel any kind of empathy or sympathy for Sabira or her village.  The evil from the  adjacent village never feels real enough or interesting enough to hold an important part of the story until Sabira finally meets up with them inside the glacier – which is way too late for any young reader.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS