In a gripping dystopian novel, four teenagers risk impossible odds to fight against tyranny in a world of dangerous choices — and reemergi...
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reviews
Jun 07, 2011
Cara
rated it: 
The whole premise of this book was very promising: oppressive government, four teenagers escape their boarding schools, there is a whole underground rebellion in the works, and to seal the deal we get a glimpse of the new kind of gladitor games. Sounds awesome right? Well it was interesting and kept my attention, but it fell a little flat.
Milena, Helen, Milos and Bartolomeo are the protagonists of this story and each contribute their own unique perspectives. Unbeknowest to them they More...
Milena, Helen, Milos and Bartolomeo are the protagonists of this story and each contribute their own unique perspectives. Unbeknowest to them they More...
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Oct 24, 2010
Teresa
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Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat is a dystopian YA novel translated from the French by Anthea Bell. The story focuses on four orphans who are confined to a boarding school. They know next to nothing of the outside world, until the events of the early chapters of the book. They soon find themselves in a world of vicious dog men, trustworthy horse men, and gladiatorial fights to the death. The Phalange, the government that oversees this world, has deliberately kept the orphans confined, for r
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Oct 15, 2011
Elizabeth
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I was going to make a video about this because I really liked this book. A lot. But after spending 4+ hours on the Linger Read-Along video last night, I’m not feeling like making a video for this. So, here we go.
This past week, I read the English translation of Winter’s End. It was originally written in French, so some of the wording is a little odd. That’s not to say it’s hard to understand. It’s absolutely brilliant.
Winter’s End is about this group of kids (Bartol More...
This past week, I read the English translation of Winter’s End. It was originally written in French, so some of the wording is a little odd. That’s not to say it’s hard to understand. It’s absolutely brilliant.
Winter’s End is about this group of kids (Bartol More...
Oct 06, 2011
Jonathan
rated it:
Well I have a version of this novel here beside me that's entitled: Winter's Song. Same book different name. How odd. Ah well the contents of the book haven't changed (hopefully) only the external elements of name and cover.
My impression of Winter's End? Its a book that like the image on my version ends up covered over by a layer of snow and forgotten until summer. Metaphorical snow that is. But that is not to suggest I didn't like Winter's Song. I just didn't find that it particularl More...
My impression of Winter's End? Its a book that like the image on my version ends up covered over by a layer of snow and forgotten until summer. Metaphorical snow that is. But that is not to suggest I didn't like Winter's Song. I just didn't find that it particularl More...
Sep 14, 2011
Ebster
rated it:
The good: The starts out feeling fairly normal, like it's taking place in the real world (albiet in an oppressive bording school in France). But it's actually more of an alternate reality, the world contains some pretty fantastic things (including Dog-men and Horse-men). And there's a pretty neat mystery going on as to why the children are in the school and why they have professional "consolers" instead of parents.
The bad: the story was translated from French to english, a More...
The bad: the story was translated from French to english, a More...
Jan 29, 2011
Angie
rated it: 
I love dystopic fiction and this one definitely fits into that category. It is a dark and ugly world these kid inhabit and they have to struggle through it. I loved it. It was gripping and unique. I loved that it was a stand alone novel...so few books are written that way these days that it is refreshing to find an author that can write just one book about something. I really enjoyed the revolution plot. I thought the multiple narrators really brought the story to life. My only real quibbles are
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Jun 09, 2010
Cornmaven
rated it:
Three stars is generous, but this is because I was never sure if the problems I was experiencing were becaues things got lost in translation (from French) or just not fabulous writing. I found myself skimming the last sections just to find out what happened.
My biggest difficulty with the narrative was the author's habit of recapping the story all along the way. Every time someone meets a new character, or meets back up with a new character, the narrative would launch into a sort of list More...
My biggest difficulty with the narrative was the author's habit of recapping the story all along the way. Every time someone meets a new character, or meets back up with a new character, the narrative would launch into a sort of list More...
Mar 24, 2010
J.Elle
rated it: 
This started out with SUCH promise in a girl's orphanage with strange, strict rules about everything, such as, each girl may only go see their consoler twice a year. But, within a few pages, the girls had left the orphanage and here the story lost its' way. One of the girls runs off with a boy from the nearby boys orphanage and they try to get to the bottom of whatever happened to their parents and if indeed, they were murdered by a corrupt government. The girl left behind ends up leaving wit
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Mar 04, 2010
Diane
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Helen and Milena are students at the girls’ school, Milos and Bartolomeo go to the boys’ school across town. Both schools are oppressively strict. Students are allowed off campus rarely, only when accompanied by another student, and must return to campus on time or a third student is punished. When Milena and Bartolomeo disappear one night, shy and quiet Catharina is thrown in the “Sky” – a dungeon like cell, and the dog-men are sent out after the missing teens. At this point, the reader is
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Feb 14, 2010
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Ashley B for TeensReadToo.com
Four students - Helen, Milena, Milos, and Bart - have run away from their respective prison-like boarding schools. Each of the four have something in common; their parents were all murdered fifteen years ago, which is why they are in these schools to begin with.
But only three of the teens make it to Jahn's restaurant, the headquarters of the Phalange resistance movement. The fourth is captured and forced into playing a barbaric gam More...
Four students - Helen, Milena, Milos, and Bart - have run away from their respective prison-like boarding schools. Each of the four have something in common; their parents were all murdered fifteen years ago, which is why they are in these schools to begin with.
But only three of the teens make it to Jahn's restaurant, the headquarters of the Phalange resistance movement. The fourth is captured and forced into playing a barbaric gam More...
Jan 16, 2010
Donna
rated it:
I checked this book out because it's a dystopia story and the description I read sounded really interesting. It started out well, with orphans at an orwellian boarding school who learn that their parents were murdered by the authoritarian government. It gets really exciting when a few of them escape and have to struggle to survive in the mountains in winter.
However, the writing was uneven. Some sections were riveting while other sections just fell flat. The book was written in F More...
However, the writing was uneven. Some sections were riveting while other sections just fell flat. The book was written in F More...
Mar 22, 2011
Liz
rated it: 
What's too bad about this book is that it first came out in Europe but didnt come out into North America until 3 years later and by that point the Hunger Games had already come out. This book isn't a series but bears such a striking resemblance to the Hunger Games that by the time I'd gotten half way through I was pretty much bored. Whereas the Hunger Games expanded into a trilogy, allowing for more time to add depth to the characters and the game itself, this book rushed everything and did the
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Dec 03, 2010
Courtney
rated it:
It's kind of like...a post-apocalyptic Les Mis! And I loved it. There's really something unique about this one. It seems so much richer and more sophisticated than many that would claim to share the genre. Alternating between four narrators, all escapees from state-run, prison-like boarding schools, the plot thickens when they learn more about their past and what it might mean for the future. There's so much more going on than can be addressed in a lil' ol' book review. I can only recommend read
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Jan 06, 2010
Carllee
rated it:
This book is fantastic – if you’re not too bothered by the pesky little plot and character problems like “I’ve known you for one day but you’re the love of my life!” I feel like I always come off too harsh in my reviews so I’m going to start with what I liked about the book first this time and then move on to its problems. Like most books I read I love them while I’m reading them, I get caught up in the plot and the characters and I often over look glaring plot problems. As it turns out my thoug
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Mar 15, 2010
Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat was a good book. It was about four teenagers that escape from their horrible boarding schools. It is about them and their journey to the capital. There they meet friends and decide to move against the Phalange, a corrupt government who was responsible for the death of the teenagers parents. The book is very interesting and had some action.
One of the teenagers in the book was Milos. Milos is 17 years old and is a strong guy with brown curly More...
One of the teenagers in the book was Milos. Milos is 17 years old and is a strong guy with brown curly More...
Feb 03, 2011
Éowyn
rated it:
Aimed at a young adult audience, this had a little of the feel of the His Dark Materials trilogy. I found it an easy read, and read it in under one day. I was underwhelemed on the whole - I thought the ending was unsatisfying and anti-climactic and most of the characters 2-dimentional and under-developed. Some of it seems pointless and some of it unexplained.
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Aug 17, 2011
Joy Mo
rated it:
Hello obscure French book no one's heard of.
What's that?
The entirety of the human population A lot of people haven't read you?
Well,
FUCK THEM They should. In fact, I think a copy of you should be bundled with every Hunger Games book sold, and you will not be able to read the latter until you've read the former.
Then, I can judgewith extreme prejudice people on which one they like better!
Sound like a good idea?
WHOOPS, I mean:
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What's that?
Well,
Then, I can judge
Sound like a good idea?
WHOOPS, I mean:
More...
Mar 02, 2011
Annie
rated it:
First Look: 4/5 I honestly thought this would be a remake of The Hunger Games. The premise was so similar.
Setting: 2/5 It was actually kind of...bla. The whole creepy wow-this-could-be-us-in-a-century dystopia thing just wasn't there. I could barely figure out what even made it a dystopia at all. Every single place was drab and none of it stood out.
Characters: 1/5 They weren't likable at all. I was never cheering them on. There wasn't anything special about them to even try More...
Setting: 2/5 It was actually kind of...bla. The whole creepy wow-this-could-be-us-in-a-century dystopia thing just wasn't there. I could barely figure out what even made it a dystopia at all. Every single place was drab and none of it stood out.
Characters: 1/5 They weren't likable at all. I was never cheering them on. There wasn't anything special about them to even try More...
Oct 06, 2011
Rebekah
rated it:
I'm going to agree with a lot of other reviews when I say that it started off sounding really interesting. The concept was great. I love dystopia. I love the idea of a boarding school for orphans whose parents were killed by the oppressive government. But we're not really told a whole lot about the boarding school, or why the school would provide them with consolers at all. I found the horse-men and dog-men fascinating but they're not really explained. The characters don't have much by way of pe
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Aug 10, 2010
Davina
rated it:
It took me almost half of this book to figure out why I couldn't stand it: it is very badly translated, so the characters are awkward and the plot is jerky. TO be honest, I never finished it, but I don't think I was missing much...
It begins at a girls' boarding school, where the girls are treated as prisoners who barely get through their days. When two girls, on their way to their "consoler," meet two boys from a nearby boys' school they exchange information in order to stay in c More...
It begins at a girls' boarding school, where the girls are treated as prisoners who barely get through their days. When two girls, on their way to their "consoler," meet two boys from a nearby boys' school they exchange information in order to stay in c More...
Feb 03, 2010
Rachael
rated it:
I really, really liked this story in the beginning. It took place in a boarding school with harsh ways and torture-like punishments. Though, in my opinion, the author quickly led the main characters away from this interesting setting to a new one that wasn’t as riveting. The characters were intriguing, and government opposition took a new spin on a book that I previously believed would be shallow. But while I liked this book for these reasons, the writing often became dull and flat. I’m not sure
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Jun 19, 2010
Gwen
rated it:
This is a dystopian novel about a group of four orphans who decide to flee their sadistic boarding schools, and find themselves in the middle of a political rebellion. There's alot of really interesting characters and relationships going on, but none of them are central, so it's sometimes difficult to really get attached to any of them. There's gladiator training and fights to the death that reminded me a lot of the Hunger Games, especially since the fights are for the government. But there's so
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Apr 21, 2011
Jasmyn9
rated it:
Several years ago there was a political coup and the Phalangist took over. A group of children were sent off to incredibly strict boarding school so the government could keep an eye on them. Four of these children have managed to escape their boarding schools and are making a run to join the new revolution to overthrow the Phalange.
These four children each have their own role to play as they find out more of their past, their parents, and why they have been locked up at school for so l More...
These four children each have their own role to play as they find out more of their past, their parents, and why they have been locked up at school for so l More...
Feb 25, 2011
Brigid
rated it:
This story uses an old plot-line (power versus people) with no novel variation. The characters' actions are inconsistent with the storyline. I liked that music was the linchpin of the Resistance, the strong and independent consolers (women), paths crossed throughout the story, and that the Phalange equals barbarians. What I didn't like: Phalange actions were inconsistent throughout story, the dog-men (???), the many caricatured characters like the Tank, Skeleton, Mills; Helen goes back for Paula
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May 18, 2011
Nadine
rated it:
In einer nicht näher definierten Zukunft in einem unbenannten Land herrscht ein totalitäres System, in dem 4 Jugendlich in 2 benachbarten Internaten aufwachsen. Für kleine Verfehlungen werden sie streng bestraft, ihre Eltern sind allesamt tot und 3 mal im Jahr ist es ihnen erlaubt zu ihrer persönlichen "Trösterin" zu gehen, einer mütterlichen Frau im Dorf, die ihnen zugeteilt wurde. Auf dem Weg dorthin begegnen Milena und Helena Batolomeo und Milos. Batolomeo und Milena verlieben sich
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Feb 11, 2011
L.M.
rated it:
My daughter and I read this book. I'm posting her review:
NYIA’s REVIEW:
I didn’t know that I loved dystopian books so much. This book showed me that. I really liked Milos and all of the characters. I got attached to them. There was not many boring parts, because each character was in first person in some parts. Also, there were some parts that changed to 3rd person. It had me worried for each one of them and I really wanted them to get away from that terrible place. The on More...
NYIA’s REVIEW:
I didn’t know that I loved dystopian books so much. This book showed me that. I really liked Milos and all of the characters. I got attached to them. There was not many boring parts, because each character was in first person in some parts. Also, there were some parts that changed to 3rd person. It had me worried for each one of them and I really wanted them to get away from that terrible place. The on More...
Apr 05, 2010
Joy
rated it:
Although this is another story of young people fighting against a corrupt government which came to power and is determined to stay in power, it was still a very good book.
All the adult resistors were eliminated and their children sent to prison-like boarding schools. Unexpectedly one day, four of these young students manage to escape and three make it to the headquarters of the resistance.
One is captured and forced to fight in ancient games for the amusement of their cap More...
All the adult resistors were eliminated and their children sent to prison-like boarding schools. Unexpectedly one day, four of these young students manage to escape and three make it to the headquarters of the resistance.
One is captured and forced to fight in ancient games for the amusement of their cap More...
Apr 25, 2010
Liz
rated it:
Seemed very disjointed, not quite 'there'. Eg, the way the horse-men and the dog-men are never fully explained, the way one voice could have so much power in the first place, the way nothing much seemed to happen until the end, the way some scenes made me sick, etc etc.
I, unlike others, can't blame other bits and pieces on the translator, because Anthea Bell did a fine job on The Strawberry Picker, and besides, she's been with me since my Asterix days! And Asterix was a perfect combi More...
I, unlike others, can't blame other bits and pieces on the translator, because Anthea Bell did a fine job on The Strawberry Picker, and besides, she's been with me since my Asterix days! And Asterix was a perfect combi More...
Mar 07, 2010
Donna
rated it:
This book was originally written in French, and I'm guessing that it may have lost a little something in the translation to English. Parts of it were suspenseful and interesting, and parts of it fell flat.
The premise of the story is that four teenage children from a strict boarding school manage to escape. It's a dystopian novel, in a world where tyranny has taken over and a rebellion is brewing. The teens become separated, and one of the four is not able to join the other three i More...
The premise of the story is that four teenage children from a strict boarding school manage to escape. It's a dystopian novel, in a world where tyranny has taken over and a rebellion is brewing. The teens become separated, and one of the four is not able to join the other three i More...
Jun 30, 2011
Bookworm1858
rated it:
Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat
Translated by Anthea Bell
Candlewick Press, 2006
415 pages
YA; Dystopian
3/5 stars
Source: Library
Read for Overlooked YA Book Battle.
This is a French dystopian novel. Helen, Milena, Milos, and Bartolomeo live in sex-segregated boarding schools but a chance meeting sends Milena and Bartolomeo fleeing from their horrid life and Helen and Milos searching for them. Milos ends up caught by the government and trai More...
Translated by Anthea Bell
Candlewick Press, 2006
415 pages
YA; Dystopian
3/5 stars
Source: Library
Read for Overlooked YA Book Battle.
This is a French dystopian novel. Helen, Milena, Milos, and Bartolomeo live in sex-segregated boarding schools but a chance meeting sends Milena and Bartolomeo fleeing from their horrid life and Helen and Milos searching for them. Milos ends up caught by the government and trai More...
