House Under Snow

Being a teenage girl, I identify with most novels that have young narrators. The plot may seem predictable, but it is an awesome book. Nicely written, it definitely held my attention. Throughout it, I kind of knew her boyfriend was using her, but the ending was still tragic for me. I also recommend Prep, another great teenage novel.

This was a captivating read. One that was very difficult to put down. It's the story of love, loss, and abandonment, told through the voice of Anna Crane. The story is told in a series of flashbacks, some when she's a child, others when she's a teenager, and finally when she's an adult. Anna and her two sisters live with their lost mother Lilly in Ohio. Their father was killed when they were very young and Lilly hasn't been the same since. She's very recluse, and quite, hardly ever leaving the house and only spending time with her three girls. Then one day she decides things need to change. She begins dating, and for the next three years a steady stream of men are in and out of their home. The girls (still only children) are not happy about this new arrangement, and begin to lose respect for their mother. Years go by, along with a new step-father, and Lilly seems only to be sinking deeper and deeper into herself. The girls at this point don't know what to do with her. Ruthie, the oldest, leaves to live with their aunt, and Anna, and Louise (the youngest) are left alone with her. Meanwhile Anna is struggling with her own demons in a very unhealthy teenage romance with her boyfriend Austin. The story closes with her mother committing the ultimate betrayal against Anna, and her battle with herself to forgive, and look at her mother for who she is, a lost soul, floating from one day to the next never real aware of her actions. I definitely recommend this book. It's an enchanting look at what tragedy, death, and loneliness can to do the human spirit. I'll most certainly be keeping an eye out for more from this talented author.

House Under Snow is a hauntingly beautiful book that explores the conflict between expectation and desire in a family of women. The tension of opposite forces constantly at work--a young widowed mother who cannot escape the desires that shaped her, her daughters'subsequent struggle to come of age, the juxtaposition of their troubled house against suburban expectations--makes this novel wise and compelling, sad and triumphant. As a poet, Ms. Bialosky fills her book with rich, lyrical language and the power of her observations which are sharp, knowing and profound. I loved this book and narrator Anna's voice stayed in my head long after I'd finished it.

Jill Bialosky's roman a clef is an unforgettable, haunting rendering of what happens to a suburban household of beautiful women frozen by the spectre of inescapable tragedy. 15-year-old protagonist, Anna Crane, recounts her valiant struggle to escape the seductive narcissism of her loving yet destructive mother Lily, whose attempts to overcome the obstacles of daily living can be found in idiomatic invectives and cosmetic counters. There is a fragile sensitivity to the prose which often feels like breaking glass, and a frightening verisimilitude of the reality of three young sisters raising themselves while vying for the attentions of their compelling yet elusive mother. Part ICE STORM, part HOUSEKEEPING, this book vividly shatters the suburban dream.

Surprisingly, I couldn't put the book down, a real page turner. The ending certainly took me by surprise. Frightenly so, this novels captures the essence of family surburban life. The characters were truly believable, especially in the manner Bialosky captures Anna and Austin's teenage love affair. Very moving and beautifully written. Bialosky is a great story teller.