My thanks to Netgalley, Soncata Press and R.E. Kurz for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.
I've never read a story about Jack Frost before. I know the general idea but I can honestly say that I do not seek out any book, show or movie that has had Jack Frost as a character. I don't know why, you'd think it'd be right up there with things that interest me and yet no, I've never sought out Jack Frost. So this book caught my attention because it sounded intriguing enough that I thought, first time for everything, why not?
This book follows the Linda Waters from the title, a high school student in Maine who is mourning the loss of her best friend. She meets a new student at school who turns out to be Jack Frost. Frost is in this particular small town and attending high school because he's trying to find a book that could be used to destroy everything about existence. Linda and Jack have to work together to find the book and the one who wants to use it for revenge.
First off, I liked this book. I didn't love it BUT I certainly liked it. I'll admit, I almost decided not to finish this story but I liked Linda so I stuck it out. Also, I learned things I've never heard of before, in the sense that I didn't know the correct names to things, like how the pigments in leaves are anthocyanin and carotenoid, or the term "blue field entoptic phenomenon" (look it up; I had to, and now I've learned something new). Little things like this made Kurz intriguing to me as a writer. I didn't think a high school student would necessarily know these things though, and I wished it was weaved into the story more about how Linda knew these things so easily. It would have rounded the character out more.
As is, I liked Linda because she tried. Every day was a day where she had to try. She had to try to get through school with horrible classmates, she had to try to help teachers she liked, she had to try to get through the days while grieving her best friend who died in a horrible accident. It was that attitude of getting through the worst that made me want to stick with Linda. Jack Frost was interesting in the sense that he was able to be the friend Linda needed when she needed something to help her. He was a stable presence and a constant for her to depend on while also becoming a bit of a defender for other students in need. I liked Lavender and Mr. London but I feel like the book didn't spend as much time with them as it could have to make their struggles feel more important to the reader.
I hated how Lavender was treated but at the same time, because Lavender wasn't necessarily the main character, her struggles felt like they were just there. The book doesn't have enough resolution to her issues at school so I feel like I don't get to see her end up in a good place. Same thing with Mr. London, there were things set in place to suggest happier times to come but again, the book moves on so readers are left wondering about their outcomes. I wanted more for them and I didn't get to see it.
The book is written as 3rd person omniscient, so readers see things from several character viewpoints as the story needs it to go. However, my main issue was with the PACING. Every chapter seems to stand as its own little story, almost as if they don't tie together as a whole. Things would happen in a chapter and then just continue on to something else in the next, without flowing together. As a result, the plot didn't feel like it was important enough as a driving point for the book. It felt like every chapter was Jack and Linda at school, dealing with obnoxious classmates and homework, helping Jack understand the nuances to human existence and whatnot, and it took a while for the search for the missing book to even become relevant. I wasn't sure how much time was passing and because of that, it felt like the characters relationships weren't developing as they should. When Lavender was added to the story, it felt a little jarring to see her demand answers from Jack and Linda when she felt excluded because she wasn't on the page enough with them. The same thing happened with Mr. London, where it felt like for the relationship to be what it seemed on the page, we needed to see more of it. Almost as if passages had been left out that needed to be seen to help the flow of the story stay on track and to show how the characters all interact with each other.
Also, it just ENDS. That's it, there's nothing else. I kept flipping pages thinking where's the rest of the book? It finished up in a few pages and for the length it took to get there, it felt like not enough of an ending. I always say that I wanted more at the end of the books I read but in this case, it NEEDED more. I still have questions about plot points that were never answered. I don't know if the plan is to write more in this world but for me, a lot is left unresolved so I'm left sitting here a little bereft, if I'm being honest. Not the best way to leave a book, when all is said and done.
Rating on my scale: 6 Stars. I wanted more. The book kind of feels unfinished in a way. It'll probably sit in the back of my mind where in the future I might wonder what happened to Linda and her best friend, Jack Frost. I hope they get their happy ending, eventually. That's the feeling I have about the everything of this book.