Like many recent fantasy/dystopian novels, 'Snow Like Ashes' may be liked just as well by adults as it is by teenagers. The plot is multilayered and rich, built on a solid magical foundation. Raasch does an excellent job of creating a riveting story. 'Snow Like Ashes' has one mild profanity, a passionate kiss and expected fantasy violence. She is consistently courageous, and her relationship with Nessa, a friend she meets at a work camp, in particular is stirring.

Meira's journey of duty to country is an inspiring coming-of-age tale set in a fantastical world of unknown magic and political machinations.Īll of the characters have depth, yet Meira is exceptionally enjoyable.

Among them were two babies - Mather, heir of Winter, and Meira, an orphaned girl who, years later, is training to be a soldier but has yet to be given the chance to prove herself.īut when 16-year-old Meira retrieves half of her kingdom's conduit - a silver locket - from Spring, she sets in motion a series of events that leave her yearning to fulfill a greater purpose yet questioning her ability to give everything to a kingdom she knows only through the stories of her friends. When the Kingdom of Winter falls to its rival country Spring, its queen is killed, its conduit is broken and its citizens are captured as slaves. The conduits are powerful tools for the kings or queens who wield them. 'Snow Like Ashes,' the first book in a trilogy by Sara Raasch, is a riveting fantasy filled with intriguing magic.Įight kingdoms - four with typical seasons and four in perpetual winter, spring summer or fall - vie for power in a world where magical objects act as conduits to harness a deeper magic hidden within the Klaryn mountains. ' SNOW LIKE ASHES,' by Sara Raasch, Balzer + Bray, $17.99, 432 pages (f) (ages 14 and up)

Snow like ashes review