YA Historical Fiction - Sadie hasn't said a word for a decade!

Frozen by Mary Casanova
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: Received this as an ARC from NetGalley and the book's publishers in return for a unbiased, honest review!

Frozen is a story about a young girl who witnesses something traumatic, the death of her mother and those that tried to cover it up, and loses her capability of speech for more than a decade afterwards. Sadie Rose is now 16, on the cusp of womanhood, and finding a bunch of provocative (given the time period) photos of a woman, her memories of that long ago night open and trigger her capability of speech.

This is a historical fiction novel, set during prohibition.

I liked this book. That sounds so lukewarm, and it is, but I did. I liked it. I thought it was going to be a kind of horror story, focusing on Sadie Rose's mother's death and Sadie's life, etc. but it wasn't. It was more of a coming of age story, but there were so many tangents that I felt as if I didn't have a complete story...to ANY of the tangents. There's prohibition, a blossoming young woman who is mute and comes from bad circumstances, local politics focusing on environmental issues, corrupt bigwig corporate person funneling money to get what he wants politically, a whole history of the mother, Bella Rose, that is just barely touched upon, a young love story, mental illness and how it is handled, etc. SO MUCH COMMENTARY in such a short book. And when you have that much to explore, you don't really get into the depths of any of it. It's impossible.

I liked the characters, although I think Sadie goes from being a complacent mute to a rule-breaking rebel incredibly fast and it makes it a bit offputting to the reader. You hear her inner dialogue about wanting freedom, but then her first taste of it, she's walking and being heckled by coarse men. I can't see a woman who can't scream wanting to take that walk into town. Trinity and Owen and Vic and Hans and Aasta are all appealing and vibrant.

When you focus on Sadie Rose, you come away from this book happy and liking it. She goes from being a mute orphan whose future depends on the good graces of her "benefactors" to a more confident young woman who realizes that Mrs. Worthington and Hans and Aasta are her family. She gets her dream of a college education, friends of her own choosing, and a local sweetheart to boot.

The writing is sound and pulls you in, the pace is fluid with only a few bubbles that burst quickly and allow you to get back on track. It's a world well-described and easy to picture.

Frozen is already out on shelves, so go pick up a copy for a good read!



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