Thursday, August 30, 2012

Tribute Books Presents "The Color of Snow" by Brenda Stanley Review


Can a troubled young girl reenter society after living in isolation?

When a beautiful 16-year-old girl named Sophie is found sequestered in a cage-like room in a rundown house in the desolate hills of Arbon Valley, Idaho, the entire community is shocked to learn she is the legendary Callidora--a baby girl who was kidnapped from her crib almost seventeen years ago and canonized in missing posters with portraits of what the fabled girl might resemble. Authorities soon learn that the cage was there to protect people from Sophie, because her biological father believes she is cursed.

Sophie is discovered after the man she knows as Papa, shoots and injures Damien, a young man who is trying to rescue her. Now, unsocialized and thrust into the world, and into a family she has never met, Sophie must decide whether she should accept her Papa’s claims that she is cursed and he was only trying to protect others, or trust the new people in her life who have their own agendas. Guided by a wise cousin, Sophie realizes that her most heartbreaking challenge is to decide if her love for Damien will destroy him like her Papa claims, or free her from past demons that haunt her mind.

The Color of Snow web site:
http://the-color-of-snow.blogspot.com/
  
The Color of Snow Twitter hashtag:
#TheColorOfSnow
The Color of Snow GoodReads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13456512-the-color-of-snow



The Color of SnowThe Color of Snow by Brenda Stanley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the most amazing young adult books I have read in a while.  The story was expertly crafted, and the message came across in a very real way.  I was drawn in from the first page through the very last sentence.

I connected with this book in a real way since I was married to a possibly schizophrenic man at one time in my life.  He also came from a family where mental illness was a problem.  Unfortunately, he did not control it through medication like he should have, and my marriage had to be dissolved to protect my daughter and me from living a controlled possibly violent life.  The end of the book, when Sophie began to face the truth about her past, resonated with me, and I understood, to a degree, what she was feeling.  Even using the Bible and God to justify her father's treatment of her was something that sounded familiar.

The way in which Brenda Stanley wrote the book was truly amazing.  The beginning of the book reminded the reader of similar stories in the news, and I felt that I had to keep reading so I could put all the pieces together. The author jumped back and forth between various years in the character's lives, and so the reader is often left hanging and wondering why something happened or what was going on.  But in the end, all the questions were answered--I was certainly glad of that!

I appreciated the fact that there were no bedroom scenes, and the profanity was extremely minimal.  Real issues such as racial prejudice, religious intolerance, pedophilia, and murder were dealt with on a real level.  Even the discussion of whether "curses" were real or not was explored.  And the message of not having to follow established family patterns and breaking cycles was dealt with in an understandable fashion.

I can't recommend this book enough to everyone.  I have never read anything by Brenda Stanley, but she has quickly become one of my favorite young adult books.  The book was a very readable book, and its message will resonate with a good share of readers.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.



View all my reviews


Brenda Stanley is the former news anchor at her NBC affiliate KPVI in Eastern Iadho. Her writing has been recognized by the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Hearst Journalism Awards, the Idaho Press Club and the Society for Professional Journalists. She is a graduate of Dixie College in St. George, Utah, and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Brenda lived for two years in Ballard, Utah, within the Fort Duchesne reservation where the novel is set. She and her husband live on a small ranch near the Snake River with their horses and dogs.

Brenda Stanley's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/brenda.baumgartnerstanley
Brenda Stanley's Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/myauthorlife
Brenda Stanley's Website:
http://www.brendastanleybooks.net/
Brenda Stanley's GoodReads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4086376.Brenda_Stanley



eBook
ISBN: 9780983741893
ISBN: 9781476172309
Pages: 413
Release: June 1, 2012

Kindle buy link - $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00873ASTK?tag=tributebooks-20

Nook buy link - $4.95
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&subid=&offerid=239662.1&type=10&tmpid=8432&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%252Fw%252Fthe-color-of-snow-brenda-stanley%252F1111297400%253Fean%253D2940014382007
iBookstore buy link - $4.99
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fbook%252Fthe-color-of-snow%252Fid531375973%253Fmt%253D11%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30
Google buy link - $3.79
http://books.google.com/books?printsec=frontcover&id=u6m2hVzQxi4C#v=onepage&q&f=false

Smashwords buy link - $4.99
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/166734?ref=tributebooks

PDF buy link - $4.95
https://www.payloadz.com/go/sip?id=1600173


Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com


Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176


Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks


Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186
  

To follow the entire tour, click here.


Twitter Party today (8/30) 
CLICK HERE to R.S.V.P.

#TheColorOfSnow by @MyAuthorLife
Twitter Party

Thursday, August 30
12 noon-1:30 p.m. Eastern


Follow hashtag #TheColorOfSnow as author Brenda Stanley answers your questions for 90 minutes live on Twitter.

A great app to use in order to follow the #TheColorOfSnowhashtag during the Twitter Party can be found attweetchat.com

We are offering (1) $50 cash prize to the person who has a receipt confirming an ebook purchase of The Color of Snow and tweets at least once during the Twitter Party. Email your receipt to info@tribute-books.com

2 comments:

  1. Thank you Ruth for the wonderful review!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ruth, thanks for the 5-star review. I'm so glad that Brenda's YA novel was one of the best you have read in a while.

    ReplyDelete

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