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473rd out of 534 books
—
1,397 voters
Winter Shadows
Cass feels the long winter shadows on her heart. Her mother died of cancer and her father has remarried a woman who has moved into their old Manitoba house with her nasty, babyish daughter and an attitude that's very hard to take. Christmas promises to be a miserable time.
More than a century earlier, Christmas is proving to be difficult for Beatrice, too, for she has shado...more
More than a century earlier, Christmas is proving to be difficult for Beatrice, too, for she has shado...more
Hardcover, 327 pages
Published
October 12th 2010
by Tundra Books
(first published September 30th 2010)
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review 9/14/12:
First I’d like to say that I won a copy of this as a member of the Early Reviewers group on Librarything, in exchange for an impartial review.
This was a heart-wrenching book to read. It was so well-written I could really empathise with the characters. I lost my father early, and I fought tooth and nail against my mother’s husband (notice, even now I can’t call him my step-father) taking the place of my father. I didn’t even want my father’s twin to take his place (even though in h...more
First I’d like to say that I won a copy of this as a member of the Early Reviewers group on Librarything, in exchange for an impartial review.
This was a heart-wrenching book to read. It was so well-written I could really empathise with the characters. I lost my father early, and I fought tooth and nail against my mother’s husband (notice, even now I can’t call him my step-father) taking the place of my father. I didn’t even want my father’s twin to take his place (even though in h...more
I picked this book for its cover. The time worn book on the cover drew me in. I am so glad this one time, I judged a book by its cover for this is a beautiful, exquisite, heartfelt book that will stay with me forever. The premise begs you to suspend your disbelief in the idea that a redheaded teen today could somehow connect to a fellow teenage ancestor, who grew up in the same home, via her ancestor's diary, visions or maybe ghosts haunting. The phenomenon is never explained because what truly...more
When Cass's dad remarries shortly after her mom died of cancer, she (Cass) is understandably upset. Especially since it entails sharing her bedroom with a step-sister well, and all traces of her mom vanish or are banished from the house. One day Cass finds a hidden brooch that magically transports her back to 1856 to the life of a girl named Beatrice who is facing similar family drama in addition to the possible romantic intentions of two different men. While the stay is brief, it is also interm...more
Themes: stepfamilies, grief, romance, race, Christmas
Setting: modern Manitoba, Canada and 1856 Manitoba
Cass is dreading Christmas, her first with her new stepmother and stepsister, and a reminder that her mother is gone for good. School stinks and her father is almost a stranger.
Then she finds a brooch and it seems that she now has a link to the past. She is seeing things that happened in her house 150 years ago.
Beatrice has been away at school and doesn't really know her new stepmother, but she...more
Setting: modern Manitoba, Canada and 1856 Manitoba
Cass is dreading Christmas, her first with her new stepmother and stepsister, and a reminder that her mother is gone for good. School stinks and her father is almost a stranger.
Then she finds a brooch and it seems that she now has a link to the past. She is seeing things that happened in her house 150 years ago.
Beatrice has been away at school and doesn't really know her new stepmother, but she...more
Oct 03, 2012
Denise
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
all ages, not just a children's book
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This well deserved, award winning book skillfully weaves the lives of two young women, 16 year old Cass, an unhappy present day girl, who lives in an old family home, located in a small Manitoba community, and 18 year old Beatrice of Scottish-Metis descent, who lives in 1856. An angry, unhappy teenager, Cass, can't understand why her father re-married so soon after her mother's tragic death from cancer. Her new, unfeeling step-mother seems totally intent...more
Well, at first I was not to sure about this book, but the more I read into it the more I like the idea of Cass and Alexandra communicating with each other in the past.
The stories are common, what a lot of young girls, and boys for that matter have to deal with every day. The story plot was realisctic, other than the future and past aspect.
I loved Duncan, he was so manly. He seemed a big, man that could handle things for you in a heart beat. He had a big heart and was always helping others.
I al...more
The stories are common, what a lot of young girls, and boys for that matter have to deal with every day. The story plot was realisctic, other than the future and past aspect.
I loved Duncan, he was so manly. He seemed a big, man that could handle things for you in a heart beat. He had a big heart and was always helping others.
I al...more
I really enjoyed reading this novel especially as the holiday season nears. The story is uplifting and sweet, I recommend this book especially to grade school students who I think will gain a lot from reading it, but readers of all ages will undoubtedly enjoy it. Although I wished I had learned more about Beatrice I understand that it was not the point of the story, I think the point was for both young women to help each other through a difficult and confusing time in their lives. The author doe...more
While I enjoyed Winter Shadows, I didn't like the way the book was organized. Sometimes one character saw the other before it happened in "real" time. Also, the italicized diary entries were intensely annoying, distracting, and gave me a headache. I understand why it was done, but it could have started out with the first paragraph in italics and then switched to a regular font.
Other than that, I enjoyed this book. Even though I wanted to smack Cass a lot, I felt she was an accurate portrayal of...more
Other than that, I enjoyed this book. Even though I wanted to smack Cass a lot, I felt she was an accurate portrayal of...more
This was a charming book. I enjoyed reading about the two girls. Both of them are headstrong and difficult, yet sympathetic characters that are trying to work through emotionally painful situations. I really liked the development of all of the characters in the book. They felt believable and the conflict was realistic. The chapters alternate perspectives which moves the plot along, though it did annoy me to switch back sometimes when I wanted to keep reading about one girl - so it was a little b...more
This is lovely historical fiction about a time and place not written about much. I empathized with both the modern girl, Cass, and Beatrice who lived in the same house more than a century earlier. The characters were well drawn and captivating. I really enjoyed so much about this book, but it did move a little bit slowly for me, and when one character saw the other before it happened in "real" time, I was thrown out of the story. I think it could have unfolded more smoothly and perhaps some of t...more
I picked this book up at random and decided, after reading the flap, that it might be worth reading. It was all right, but there were definitely more than a few key scenes that I had to reread because it seemed like the characters jumped to a conclusion or did something out of character--things just didn't make sense. And even after the re-read, things still didn't make sense. I think that if there had been more emphasis/belief in Cree mysticism, the plot would have flowed much better. It was a...more
Synopsis
Cass resents her new stepmother and stepsister. She feels that there is no place for her in her father's new life and no longer feels like she has a home. When she finds a mysterious broach, her life begins to get even worse; she begins to see people that aren't there and Christmas without her mother is right around the corner. Can connecting with a girl from the past help her push the shadows out of her life and enjoy life again?
Review
I found the story line of Beatrice to be fascinating...more
Cass resents her new stepmother and stepsister. She feels that there is no place for her in her father's new life and no longer feels like she has a home. When she finds a mysterious broach, her life begins to get even worse; she begins to see people that aren't there and Christmas without her mother is right around the corner. Can connecting with a girl from the past help her push the shadows out of her life and enjoy life again?
Review
I found the story line of Beatrice to be fascinating...more
Winter Shadows contains parallel story lines - one from Beatrice in 1856 and the other from Cass in the present day. Beatrice has returned home to take care of her father and grandfather and finds life with her father's new wife difficult. Cass also has step-monster problems as well as coping with a younger stepsister. The two girls both suffer from episodes of "shadows" in which they can "see" each other across time.
Both plots develop too slowly and, at times, the author seems overtly determin...more
Both plots develop too slowly and, at times, the author seems overtly determin...more
This book shows that step families have been hard for a very long time. The parallel stories of Beatrice in the 1856 and Cass in the present both have a new step mother after their mothers have died and the relationship is not an easy one. I like this time travel/shadow travel/ ghost/spirit story? With a dash of romance. It is kind of hard to categorize.
It is set in Manitoba in 1856 Beatrice is not happy to have come home after being away at school and found her father married to Ivy a sour wom...more
It is set in Manitoba in 1856 Beatrice is not happy to have come home after being away at school and found her father married to Ivy a sour wom...more
Winter shadows — and family struggles — affect two young women, five generations apart, whose stories unfold through first-person, alternating voices in the latest novel from Margaret Buffie (author of the classic Who Is Frances Rain?). In the present, teen aged Cass, still mourning the death of her mother, wrestles with her new blended family. Her stepmother Jean and her irritating 12-year-old daughter Daisy seem to have supplanted Cass in her father’s affection. Cass dreads the winter ahead in...more
In 1856, Beatrice Alexander has returned home from her boarding school to help care for her injured father and ailing grandmother. The most difficult task of all is dealing with her father's new wife, Ivy, who loathes her. In the present day, Cass, living in Beatrice's house, is miserable following her mother's death and her father's subsequent marriage. Jean, Cass's stepmother, seems to hate Cass and any reminders of her mother. Beatrice's and Cass's stories are woven together as they begin to...more
It was initially hard to get into Margaret Buffie’s Winter Shadows because each chapter alternates between Cass and Beatrice so it was a little jerky, but it became a lot easier to read once both girls’ stories started to overlap a bit. I was also expecting that Cass would time travel, but she actually is only able to get glimpses of Beatrice and read her journal in real time, which I really liked because I believe that spirits can exist but time traveling … not so much.
Although Buffie does a re...more
Although Buffie does a re...more
Winter Shadows is an interesting novel that is told from two different point of views. The first belongs to Cass, a young girl who can't get over her mother's death. Now that her father has remarried, life can't get any more complicated. Her step mother and has taken over the house and seems to be "erasing" the memory of her mother, while her spoil and bratty step sister enjoys getting her into trouble. It's these changes in her life that drive Cass up the wall. She hates the idea of "letting go...more
I didn't want the book to end.
A magical combination of time travel, grief, depression, a little romance and the process of figuring out family "stuff." The story takes place in Manitoba near Christmas time. The frigid temperatures outside is a perfect backdrop for the emotional drama of the characters. Some details were left out or hurried, but the emotional punch the book packs made up for a few minor shortcomings. Not to be left out is the subplot of the Métis or country-born people.
A magical combination of time travel, grief, depression, a little romance and the process of figuring out family "stuff." The story takes place in Manitoba near Christmas time. The frigid temperatures outside is a perfect backdrop for the emotional drama of the characters. Some details were left out or hurried, but the emotional punch the book packs made up for a few minor shortcomings. Not to be left out is the subplot of the Métis or country-born people.
Very enjoyable read. I liked the way the author alternated chapters with the present and the past. She did a nice job with transitioning between the two voices of Cass and Beatrice. Her historical perspectives touch on the Indian lore of the Cree indians as well as the touches of history from the Scottish settlers of the area. She weaves a fine tale that emphasizes the parrallel lives of Cass in the present struggling with family issues and Beatrice in the past working her way through a similar...more
It is not often that I give a novel, 5/5 stars. Margaret Buffie is at the top of her craft with her latest novel, Winter Shadows. Two teens, 150 years apart, are connected through tragedy and time one Christmas Season. The trick about writing a novel in two different first person points of view is to make their voices distinct and compelling. Both Cass and Beatrice have their subtle nuances in speech that make them quite different and interesting. Teens will appreciate the struggle both have to...more
Feb 21, 2011
B
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
adult-canadian,
grade-6,
grade-5,
j-canadian,
j-christmas,
j-historical,
ya-canadian,
ya-history,
ya-romance,
yrca-2010,
paranormal
4+
historical
time travel
romance
coming of age
Metis
good development of characters
well written
Really enjoyed this book
Two young woman living in the same home near Selkirk in Manitoba-
one present day and one in 1856- both going through difficult times.
I did enjoy this book. I think it could have been done much better. There wasn't much character development, the story moved along with the characters behaving as you'd expect. Their actions & the book's ending are obvious. However, I found I easily disliked both evil stepmothers. The two main characters, Beatrice & Cass were likeable. I enjoyed the historical aspect...that with the development between Daisy and Cass were my favorite things about the novel. Cass' relationship with Martin...more
This was a very enjoyable read. I found Beatrice's story much more enjoyable, and entertaining then Cass's. Wish the author wrote more on her story then Cass's
Pretty good read. I read it when I had strep so I missed a lot of the key parts at the beginning but was pretty captivated by the two intertwining and similar stories of Cass and Beatrice
Great characterization and nice writing, but the vaporizing worlds was just a little over the top. I wish the author went with a simpler approach, like the journal was past back and forth thru time, the end. Oh well.
Engaging story - nice transitions between past and present.
Apr 27, 2011
Anastasia Tuckness
marked it as to-read
set in Canada, two generations communicate with each other
LOVED it!!!
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| Winter Shadows | 1 | 1 | Sep 15, 2012 07:44pm |
Award winning author, Margaret Buffie, was born and grew up in the west end of Winnipeg, attended various schools - graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Manitoba. An artist for many years, Margaret began writing in 1985. A year later, after finishing her first manuscript, Kids Can Press accepted Who is Frances Rain for publication. It quickly became a bestseller after app...more
More about Margaret Buffie...
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