All the Winters After

October 5, 2015
In Halverson’s absorbing second novel (after The Underside of Joy), a pair of damaged introverts find love and healing in a remote corner of Alaska. After a layoff and a breakup, Kachemak Winkel has left Austin, Tex., for his family’s homestead near Caboose, Ala., which he has not been to since a plane crash killed his parents and brother 20 years ago. Kache dreads revisiting the cabin where he grew up, expecting to find a pile of rubble. To his surprise, he finds it in perfect condition and unexpectedly occupied by Nadia, who fled an abusive marriage and a nearby religious enclave. She’s been hiding in the cabin for the past 10 years with no companions but a dog and Kache’s mother’s journals. As Nadia and Kache strike up a tentative friendship, Kache rediscovers his long-dormant musical talent, delights in coaxing Nadia out into the bigger world, and begins to let go of the tragedy in his past. But there are obstacles, particularly Nadia’s ex-husband, who has a score to settle. Although Nadia seems too well-adjusted for an ex-fundamentalist who’s lived in complete isolation for a decade, and Kache could use a few more flaws, their love story is engaging, and the spectacular setting and delightful supporting cast infuse the plot with vitality. A surprise ending is a perfect capper to this unorthodox romance. Agent: Elizabeth Weed, the Book Group.

December 1, 2015

First published in Britain as The House of Frozen Dreams, Halverson's second book after the well-received The Underside of Joy is an absolute delight from start to finish. After 20 years away from Alaska, Kachemak Winkel has finally worked up the courage to return to the town of Caboose to check on the family homestead and confront the ghosts of his past. The lingering loss of his immediate family in a plane crash years earlier has left him haunted by memories of their wilderness home and the conflicts between himself and his father. Expecting to find the cabin fallen into ruins after two decades of neglect, Kache is astonished to discover a young woman hiding there from her own troubled life growing up in an Old Believer (an offshoot of the Russian Orthodox church) village not far from Caboose. Little does he know that stepping back into his past will lead to the greatest revelation of his life--that his father loved and believed in him and that a woman, haunted by her own past, would become his salvation. Halverson based the town of Caboose on the real-life community of Homer on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. VERDICT Written with a deep appreciation for both the beauty and danger of the last frontier, this novel will resonate with readers looking for more than just another adventure story.--Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage P.L., AK

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2015
Kachemak Winkel's life seemed to end the day his family died in a plane crash. He left the Alaskan wilderness they called home, and two decades of survivor guilt kept him from returning. Following a breakup and the loss of his Texas job, though, he finally decides to make that return trip. Realizing that even his aunt neglected to look in on the family home for all those years, Kache is filled with regret and concern, certain that the place will be nothing more than a rotting hulk. Instead he finds it occupied and maintained by Nadia, a young Russian woman who has been hiding there for 10 years. Nadia is reluctant to share much with Kache, but as time passes, the two begin to build a rapport, then a friendship, and, as the healing continues, perhaps something more. With sweet, heartfelt characters and a richly described setting, Halverson blends mystery and suspense into a love story of many layers, not the least of which is a declaration of love to the Alaskan wilderness and its people.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)