Winterkill

August 4, 2014
Boorman’s atmospheric, slow-building debut takes on the communal, can-do myth of the Western frontier. In Emmeline’s world, settlers huddle fearfully within their stockade, dreading winter and the predation of the malmaci, a faceless terror that wiped out most humans in the region generations ago. Survival depends on obedience to the ruling Council and the practice of three virtues: Honesty, Bravery, and Discovery. “Waywardness” is punishable by death. That was the fate of Emmeline’s grandmother, and Emmeline still bears the stigma. Emmeline has long since learned that her yearning for Discovery puts her in grave danger of disobedience, but she cannot ignore the urgent dreams that whisper “Find us”—find the Lost People most believe were destroyed by the malmaci. Boorman’s great strength is using qualities common to teenagers—inexperience, idealism, restlessness, insecurity—to realistically shape Emmeline’s behavior. Much of what Emmeline does is well meaning but ill-judged, and her short-term planning brings about consequences she never imagined. Boorman’s frontier may be the stuff of myth, but her protagonist speaks directly and powerfully to a young adult experience. Ages 12–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

August 1, 2014
A young woman comes of age in an isolated community with stifling codes of conduct. Emmeline, not quite 16, lives in a settlement of 600-odd people huddled in hungry solitude in the frozen north. With her birthday approaching, Emmeline isn't looking forward to her coming-of-age, when leering Brother Stockham of the settlement's leadership will begin to court her in earnest. Disabled, suffering from chronic pain, prone to self-harm and Stained by the Wayward actions of her long-dead grandma'am, Emmeline should be grateful for Brother Stockham's attentions, but she prefers Kane, a quiet, handsome boy her own age. Perhaps her dreams will lead her to the Lost People and win her the respect she needs to choose her own partner. This slightly magical alternate history features the Canadian prairie as an unpeopled wilderness save for this mix of Francophones, Anglophones, and trilingual mixed-race Metis who speak French, English and First People's languages such as Cree and M'ikmaq. Worldbuilding suffers despite its potential. Nonsensically, after five generations, the settlement's people haven't managed to form a mutually intelligible pidgin, and the language groups don't mix (except when they do) and don't understand one another's languages (but seem to have no problem doing so). In the end, choppy prose and the present tense make this moody, dreamlike tale of a special girl in a religious dystopia read just like all the others. (Fantasy. 13-15)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Emmaline lives with her father in a walled settlement that is locked at night to protect people from a mysterious evil that wiped out many of their ancestors, and may still be lurking in the nearby woods. Survival is difficult in a village that lacks modern conveniences and a land that suffers brutal winters. The Councilmen in charge of this repressed society are dominating and quick to punish any sign of Waywardness. Emmaline bears the guilt of her Wayward grandmother, who was exiled years ago. When she turns 16, one of the leaders asks to marry her, offering an opportunity to salvage the family's reputation. But not only is Emmaline attracted to another man, she also cannot help but be Wayward herself. She dreams of the Lost People who once lived there, and often escapes into the forbidden woods where she uncovers a dangerous secret. Emmaline's narrative reinforces her mistrust of the Councilmen, her feelings of unworthiness, and the superstitious nature of her people. Boorman sustains an atmosphere of oppression, and her characters are well drawn, but one can't help but feel that this plot has been done before. Purchase where books about Puritanical dystopian societies are in demand.-Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2014
Grades 8-11 Emmeline lives in a fortified compound enforced by draconian rules, but she struggles under the weight of her tainted family legacy and longs to follow her instincts to explore beyond the woods, a violation of the community rules that will brand her wayward. As she nears her sixteenth birthday, a series of enigmatic dreams urge her further into the woods, and she discovers long-held secrets about her community and its leaders, as well as the truth about the terrifying stories that keep the townspeople locked up tight at night. As the dangerous winter freeze looms, Emmeline is torn between Kane, the boy she truly loves and who encourages her to reveal what she has found, and creepy, power-hungry Brother Stockham, whose marriage proposal could clear her family's name. Emmeline's lyrical, unhurried first-person narrative builds deepening suspense as debut author Boorman cultivates an eerie atmosphere in a village held in thrall by fear. Many questions remain unansweredmost notably, when does the story take place?but the promise of forthcoming volumes should keep antsy readers at bay.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)