The Ice House
by Monica Sherwood (Author)
With shades of When You Reach Me, The Thing About Jellyfish, and Bridge to Terabithia, and a big, timely climate hook at its core, here is a heartfelt middle grade debut about the inevitability of change that will resonate profoundly during these extraordinary times.
Spring has arrived, and yet an unyielding winter freeze has left Louisa snowed into her apartment building for months with parents coping with extreme stress, a little brother struggling with cabin fever, and--awkwardly--her neighbor and former close friend, Luke. The new realities of this climate disaster have not only affected Louisa's family, but when Luke's dad has an ice-related accident and it's unclear if he'll recover, both families' lives are turned upside down. Desperate to find an escape from the grief plaguing their homes, Louisa and Luke build a massive snow fort in their yard. But their creation opens up an otherworldly window to what could lie ahead, and sets them on a mission: to restore the universe to its rightful order, so the ice will melt and life will return to "normal".
With a deft combination of heartfelt prose and a touch of magic, Monica Sherwood's affecting debut novel is a relatable story of families grappling with--and emerging from--a different kind of quarantine.
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School Library Journal
A gentle middle grade debut in a near-future dystopia where climate change affects everyone, and life is full of changes,. Six months ago the world got covered in snow, and it just never stopped coming down. People are calling it the Freeze, and there's rumors it's a new Ice Age. Sixth grader Louisa has been stuck at home ever since, as the city has deemed being outside unsafe. Online learning, plus a younger brother who's struggling with cabin fever, a mom affected by grief, and a dad who works long hours, means life is hard for everyone. When a family friend, Louisa's former good friend Luke's dad, is struck on the head and loses his memory, the two children decide to build a snow fort as a way to escape their harsh realities, and their friendship slowly rekindles. A bit of magical realism appears inside the structure, and Louisa and Luke make it their special getaway place, where no one else is allowed inside. The story has an overall slow pace, and the reality of the Freeze has clear COVID-19 pandemic analogies. Every character in this book, even those in the periphery, seems to be struggling, and the plot can only be described as bleak. The little magic that the main characters experience doesn't amount to much of anything, which in addition to the rushed ending, can leave readers wanting more. VERDICT Purchase for upper elementary and middle schools where there is interest in pandemic stories and dystopia.
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly
In the six months since worldwide weather phenomenon "the Freeze" began, sixth grader Lou has tired of living through a "historic moment": attending school remotely alienates her from friends Priya and Nellie, food deliveries arrive less and less frequently, and her Nana died after slipping on ice, devastating Lou’s artist mother. When an iced-over branch hits the family’s neighbor-the folk musician father of Lou’s former friend Luke-it causes memory loss, a tragedy that catalyzes Lou, cued as white, to again spend time with Luke, who is of Jamaican descent. Inspired by a school architecture project and wanting an escape from their respective situations, the pair builds a house of ice and snow in their apartment building’s backyard. While enjoying their new refuge, the two find that the ceiling appears to offer visions of a hopeful future-one in which Lou’s mom is happier and Luke’s dad makes music again. Sherwood’s lightly magical debut deftly mixes tween friendship difficulties and familial frustrations with an alternate reality that mirrors pandemic schooling, engagingly exploring the loneliness of an event that requires insular experiences-a feeling with which many readers will relate. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2021 Publisher’s Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
JUV039020 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Adolescence
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
JUV029020 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Weather
Apartment houses
Winter
