Cold As Ice

Whatever After #6

by Sarah Mlynowski

The magical sixth installment in this NEW YORK TIMES bestselling series!

Brrrrrrrr. This fairy tale is FREEZING!

Even though my brother and I had decided to stay away from the magic mirror, our puppy had other plans -- he bounded right in. What choice did we have but to go in after him?

When we land in a winter wonderland, we realize we must be in the story of The Snow Queen. And this fairy tale is nothing like the movie. This Snow Queen is super-mean, and she turns our dog into an ice sculpture!

To get home we'll have to:
- Defrost our furry friend
- Ride a very chatty reindeer
- Learn to ice-skate
- Escape from a band of robbers

And if we're not careful . . . we could end up frozen ourselves!

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Fairy Tales, Audiobook, Childrens, Retellings, Fiction

163 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 2014

About the author

Sarah was born in Montreal, Canada. After graduating with an honors degree in English literature from McGill University, she moved to Toronto to work for Harlequin Enterprises. While she never met Fabio, she used her romance publishing experiences to fuel her first novel Milkrun.

Since then, Sarah has written four additional novels for adults: Fishbowl, As Seen on TV, Monkey Business, and Me vs. Me; the New York Times bestselling middle grade series Whatever After; the middle grade series Upside-Down Magic (with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins); and the teen novels Bras & Broomsticks, Frogs & French Kisses, Spells & Sleeping Bags, and Parties & Potions (all in the Magic in Manhattan series), as well as Gimme a Call, Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have), Don't Even Think About It, Think Twice, and I See London, I See France. Along with Lauren Myracle and E. Lockhart, Sarah also wrote How to Be Bad, and along with Farrin Jacobs, she wrote See Jane Write, a guide to writing. Sarah also co-edited two bestselling charity collections (Girls' Night In and Girls' Night Out), and has contributed to various anthologies (American Girls About Town, Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday, 21 Proms, First Kiss (Then Tell), Fireworks, and Vacations from Hell).

Sarah is also a co-founder of OMG BookFest, a celebration of books aimed at the early to middle grade reader (ages 7-12) that brings together commercial and award-winning authors with underserved local communities for an exciting experience of books, games and activities.

Sarah's books have been translated into twenty-nine languages and optioned to Hollywood. She now lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading these stories with my girls for over 6 years now. I read a few of these stories with my oldest starting in 2016. Now my youngest is reading them to me, and her sister has handed down the first several stories in the series. We had started reading them in 2016 but my oldest skipped around a bit and read a couple of volumes to her Aunt and Grandma while on a road trip. So this was my first time encountering this specific story. My youngest insists we review everything that we read together, so this review from 2022 is part of that effort. Between reading with my oldest and youngest this is the fourteenth time I have read a book in this series. The stories have great staying power. Even as an adult I can enjoy these books, not only the first time but rereading them again and again.

Mlynowski does a wonderful job with this book and the whole series to date. My oldest was a reluctant reader. Back then when we read, I would read two pages for every page she read to me. The whole family loves these stories from 8-years old to 80 years old. It is a great series. The stories are fun and entertaining, but also have some valuable lessons and insight. This one a little more so than some of the others. My mother in law and Sister in law recall my oldest reading this to them in the car on the road trip to a cottage and enjoying the story greatly. The cold story contrasted with the August heat and humidity.

My youngest daughter and I give this story a emphatic 5/5 stars. After reading each day she took some time and reflected on that days reading. She was surprised by some of Abby’s behaviours early in the book, and said it reminded her of her sister Abby. She was concerned, that Abby in the story; was becoming the villain. But the twists and turns in this story captivated her immensely.

As a family we always enjoy Mlynowski’s twists on old tales. Even my 14 year old son sticks around to listen to his sisters turn to read, for these books. This one is one with some great lessons. And this time Abby learns and then teachers or coaches based on her own lessons and reflections. Another great take on a familiar tale. The writing is excellent. My daughters and I love reading them together. The retelling in this story surprised both of us at several different points. It is a great read in a wonderful series.

[~tea~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have never read the original fairy tail so this made no sense to me

[Hannaneh · Rating 3 out of 5]

چون fairy tale مورد علاقه‌ام نبود صوتی گوش دادم زودتر تموم بشه ولی خوب بود (دقیق از نسخه هانس کریستین اندرسون استفاده نکرده بود ولی در کل خوب بود)

[Rasta Nasseri · Rating 5 out of 5]

وای که چقدر این کتاب خوبه هر چه بگویم بازم کمه
این کتاب را به کسانی که عاشق داستان هایی پرنسسی و ماورایی هستند پیشنهاد می کنم مخصوصا به دختر ها
و واقعا عالی است 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

[Clarissa Bush · Rating 5 out of 5]

She runs to Kai and gives him a tight hug. “You’re my best friend.”

“I think she loooooves you,” Sharon sings, and then starts to laugh. “I think you looooove each other. You’re gonna get maaaaried.”

“We’re only twelve!” they both yell. But they’re both blushing.

Who knows? Maybe one day they will.


OH MA GAWD

Replace “Sharon” with “Clarissa”, “Gerta” with “Gilly”, and “Kai” with “Jax”

Eeeee

[Maddy Hamilton]

modern classic lol

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing, as always. Except one thing I didn't really appreciate the way Maryrose had to hypnotize Abby's parents into forgetting the whole fairytale thing. Abby had finally decided to tell them after lying for months, and I don't like the message it's sending about that. It would be a big relief to the reader if her parents could just know about it already. But oh well, maybe will tie up better in the 7th book.

[Trinity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm guessing frozen ❄️⛄️

[Sting Key · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books about snow, and snow queens, so this book was one that I definitely liked. I loved that the Snow Queen used the mirror to become the Snow Queen, but the one thing that didn't make sense was that if she broke the mirror over her head, how could Abby and Jonah use it to get home?
But other than that, the book was really well written, and very enjoyable!

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit this one didn't hit as well as the previous books, but it's a less familiar fairy tale in general. But I love snow and cold and references to Frozen. And talking reindeer (not named Sven). So it was a win.

Also, I adore Abby and Jonah's sibling relationship. That's probably my favorite thing about this series, even more than the fantasy.

[AnishaB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Abby who has a brother named Jonah and they travel in a magic mirror together to go into a magical fairytale. In this book they go into the original Frozen with the Snow Queen.

[Myrtle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good and unpredictable. Last book Rapunzel got on my nerves, this time it is Abby. Also, the book ended on SUCH a cliffhanger.

[♡︎Jada♡︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was actually my second time reading this book! That’s how good it was, you will almost never catch me reading a book again unless it was amazing.

[Kassie]

I dont remember anything from this book

[Krim · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are so good ☃️

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a great dearth of chapter books targeted at this age group that are enjoyable to read for both parent and child -- while there are a great deal of books targeted at this age group that are not so enjoyable to read (at least for parents). So it was a great joy to discover this series. While firmly targeted toward younger readers, there are enjoyable aspects for adults reading along as well: humor, quirkiness, foreshadowing, deft story construction. Perhaps the best aspect is how Mlynowski takes fairy tales that are quite outdated (especially where options for girls are concerned) -- or simply poorly constructed (like how the Snow Queen is oddly absent at the ending of the original story) -- and fixes them to make her endings actually more satisfying than those of the originals. My only issue is actually with the cover art, which is so girly that my son refused to listen to the story. I'm sure he would have enjoyed it if he had.

[BookCupid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abby adores her trio of friends and believes nothing can come between them. Until Robin decides she wants to have another friend on the side. Feeling betrayed, Abby kicks her out of the group. But before she can do more damage, the mirror sweeps Abby, Jonah, and their dog Prince to a Frozen land where the Snow Queen is known to freeze people just to keep them by her side. Now, what could she and Abby have in common?

Once again, Mlynowski wrote a sweet addition to the series. This one carried a special lesson about jealousy and the fear of abandonment. There were lots of background jokes regarding the smash hit movie Frozen and its similarities between the Snow Queen tale. A must for all fans of the series.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be about her going to another fairy tale such as her other books. It was about the Snow Queen, she froze her Abby and Jonah's dog and trying to save the character in the fairy tale. But they bumped into a little trouble with a band of thieves. The reason I picked this book would be because it was part of her series and I think that the series had a lot of adventure into it. I finished the book because I didn't want to leave the book in the middle, to me it would kinda kill the meaning of having a book. I would recommend this book to Mabel, because I know how she likes books from this author.

[Isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been one of the best book of the series! This book is based of the original story of The Snow Queen! ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ it's a wonderful story filled with lots and lots of snow, snowmen,fun, joy, and laughter!!!

Can't wait to read the next book "Whatever After; Beauty Queen" #7

[amy johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watch out your about to get snowballed

In as cold as ice you while get an exciting chilling breeze down your back or turned into a ice cube or maybe just see how friendship can put a smile on anyone's face even the snow queen. See how this chilling tale can turn into a thrilling adventure

[Abbas Yazdanpanah · Rating 4 out of 5]

اینم کتاب خوبی بود
من این کتابها رو دوست دارم چون علاوه بر خط سیر اصلی داستان یه داستان هم برای شخصیت اصلی اتفاق میفته
و این باعث میشه که شخصیت اصلی یه چیز جدیدی رو تجربه کنه
برای من جالبی این قسمت از کتاب این بود که چالشی که ایبی و جونا اینجا باهاش روبرو میشن چیزی بود که خیلی از بچه‌ها تجربه اش میکنن و اونم اینه که من چندتا دوست دارم

[Jennifer Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's about a girl and a boy going into a magic mirror that takes them into the fairy tale "The snow Queen" And they need to find a way home.This book is great for kids who love fairy tales.I recommend this book for kids who love to read fairy tales.

[Iman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book Abby travels into the fairy tale snow ❄️ queen she meats a girl her and her brother go with them they are robbers and through Abby and he
r brother in there basement there they meat a girl named Gerda they ecscaped and went to go rescue her dog

[Jismeily]

AMAZING! you should really read this book

[emma ♖ · Rating 4 out of 5]

very quick reads and very cute.

[Carly S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was an amazing book! I rated this 5 stars because I never wanted to put the book down! This book is about a girl named Abby and her brother Jonah who have a magic mirror in their basement. They realized that they were in the Snow Queen's story after their puppy, (Prince) got frozen by the evil Snow Queen! When they try to run away, they land on a frozen lake! Then all of a sudden they hear a loud CRACK! The next thing they knew they were dropped into the freezing, cold lake below them. They hear voices outside the lake and realize that they're trying to save them! They pull them out of the lake and give them some dry clothes to warm up. After that they take them to their house, when they realize that they aren't the nice people they say they are, they're robbers! They lock them into their basement with nothing inside besides a chatty reindeer named Ralph. Will Abby and Jonah be able to save they're puppy before it's too late? Or will they get out of the basement without getting caught? Read the book and you'll find out!

[Aiko (Temiko) · Rating 5 out of 5]

People who say this book made no sense clearly did not read the book.

I read this once back in middle school, and just re-read it again as a university student. It made sense to me both times. Albeit, I was already familiar with the characters of the Ice Queen by Hans Christian Anderson, but not to the extent where I knew the course of the story. I think the author did well in explaining the original fairy tale through Abby's recollections. It was very clear and the story was enjoyable.

People who complain about the story's plot miss the whole point that this is mainly about where Abby learns her big lesson about friendship and learning to not micromanage her friendships. It's actually funny because that's also the theme of Frozen that Disney wrote, and considering there were so many references to Frozen in this book that it should have been obvious that the story was about relationships.

[Moram Salih · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is amazing it was my first whatever after book I picked it up from the school library and I’m so glad that I did so because it’s amazing and I didn’t know that it was a series so I got this one first and I’m kinda like sad that I didn’t start with the first one that is first of them all but like there is like an introduction to like the basement mirror and stuff, so yeah, but it’s really really good and I love how like Abby and Jonah they like it’s it’s giving sibling power. I hated the snow queen I felt like she was a little stupid and I absolutely loved Greta. She was super brave and loyal and I kinda don’t like how prince goes into the fairytale sometimes but it’s really good even though it doesn’t have any pictures I felt like I was inside of the story. It’s really truly amazing and it’s the start of me reading books with no pictures by the way I’m 13 years old and I like books with pictures but this one definitely hits different.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

My 5-year-old daughter picked a couple books from this series for me to read aloud. I like the idea of these stories (modern day brother and sister go through a magic mirror portal into a fairy tale and help the main characters right some wrongs), but the main character, Abby, is pretty sassy… so much so that I felt like my daughter and I had to have several conversations in the middle of paragraphs to make sure she knew that Abby wasn’t always handling her problems very well. While this is realistic to her age, it took Abby way too long to make amends, and even that part was so brief that it felt too rushed for it to sink in to a child’s mind. Also, Ralph (the reindeer) was pretty condescending, another trait I don’t care to read aloud to my impressionable daughter. I will give another book in this series a try, but these might be better for older kids who have more social experience.

[Jill Jemmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this series! This chilly story was a great book.

I’ve never read the tale of the Snow Queen, so this story was new to me. I’ve watched Frozen, but the fairytales that Abby and Jonah enter are the original tales, not the Disney versions. This story is a dark tale, so Abby and Jonah had to try to turn it into a happy ending.

There were some big surprises at the end of this story. Abby and Jonah’s secret of the mirror was almost discovered by their parents, but at the last minute their minds were wiped. Another important memory was altered as well, so I have no idea how it will play out in the rest of the series!

As always, I can’t wait to continue the rest of this series. It is a great collection of fairytale retellings.