Book Review: Frost, by Kate Avery Ellison

It's not often that I encounter a story that combines a unique world, strong characters, and a plot that keeps you guessing. But that's what I found in Frost, by Kate Avery Ellison--plus a realistic romance that I genuinely hoped would work out. It does borrow a bit from The Hunger Games, in that there's a strong female protagonist who supports her family, but it's much better than Divergent, which seemed to think the winning elements of The Hunger Games are a dystopian society and girl with weapons.

Don't ask me where she got that pink lipstick in the middle of the icy wasteland.

Yeah, I really hate Divergent. It's a cheap, derivative, boring book--but that's for another post.

In the secluded world of the Frost, young Lia Weaver takes responsibility for her brother and sister following  their parents' death. She has two concerns: meeting her family's work quota and protecting her siblings from the Watchers, demonic creatures that live in the Frost and leave tracks that slice through the ice wherever they go. But that all changes when a man from beyond the Frost blunders onto her farm. Lia's got to choose if she'll endanger her family to save the life of a stranger.

Of course, she does--she wouldn't be the heroine if she didn't--but her struggle to make that choice felt real, and I could appreciate how difficult it was. The stranger, Gabe, turns out to be a fugitive from another kingdom, an exiled nobleman who's never worked a day in his life. Lia can barely imagine what that life must be like, but the more time she spends with Gabe, the more she finds they have in common. Unlike most YA romances, which require one participant to have supernatural powers that far outweigh the other's, Lia and Gabe are equals--at least as long as they stay in the seclusion of the Frost. But Gabe's enemies aren't too far behind him, and if Lia wants to keep him safe, she and her family will face more and more danger.

The imagery in this story is quite beautiful, especially towards the end. The Frost is neither a dystopian nor medieval fantasy setting, but reminiscent of a cold, biting, fairy tale. The characters are wonderfully developed, with pragmatic Lia, her impulsive sister Ivy, the reclusive young Adam Brewer, and the mysterious Gabe all bouncing off each other in interesting ways. The plot is well paced and engaging, doling out mysteries and answers that make you want to read on.

One flaw of this story was the climax; which I felt was over rather suddenly and could have been drawn out a little longer. There isn't a clear sense at the end that everything has been resolved, which leaves the door wide open for the sequel, but at the same time doesn't make me feel like I've read a whole book. Still, if my one complaint is that I wish there was more, how bad a book can it be?

My rating? For YA fantasy, five out of five stars. As a novel, four and a half.

You can download Frost here