This is Casanova's first of 3 stand alone novels set in northern MN. I was again drawn into the setting near the Canadian border during prohibition, and the characters. A really good combination of mystery, coming of age, and family secrets. ( )

The synopsis pretty much says it all, but Frozen is a gorgeously written historical fiction novel. One that quickly drew me in and kept me immersed. It takes a lot for me to really get into historical fiction normally. I'm the girl who adores quick moving plots and witty heroines. However Mary Casanova's story drew me in for much different reasons, and it was utterly refreshing.

Sadie Rose is quite the protagonist. My favorite part about her was her spirit. When the book starts, Sadie Rose is just finding her voice. This sets in motion a series of events that lead her towards finding out who she truly is. What the reader finds is a girl who has been stifled in her growth. Missing part of her past, and constantly being told what her future will be, Sadie Rose feels like her life is going nowhere. I loved watching her grow into her own, slowly discovering how to be independent. She is a pretty brave girl, especially in the 1920's!

That being said, the rich setting of this book is also one of the reasons that I enjoyed it so much. To Sadie Rose, Rainy Lake is a small and pretty drab town. However to me, the reader, it was a place of possibility. It was fascinating to see people going about their daily lives in this time period. The divide between rich and poor. The political issues of the day. This isn't just a story about a girl finding herself, it's also an opportunity to see the beginning of a great era.

My one qualm with this book, and honestly it's a small one, is that it is rather slow at parts. The mystery surrounding Rainy Lake and Sadie Rose's past keeps things flowing pretty well. However there were points where the descriptions were a bit lengthy, and slowed things down. It didn't hamper my overall enjoyment of the story however. Those who read historical fiction often will know that descriptive writing is part and parcel to the genre.

I sincerely enjoyed Frozen as a whole, and am very glad that I took the time to read it! As I said, this isn't usually my genre of choice. That's what I'm all the more ecstatic to be able to say that I truly enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of historical fiction, give Frozen a place on your reading list. ( )

Frozen by Mary Casanova is set in northern Minnesota during the 1920's. Sixteen year old Sadie Rose has been unable to speak since her mother's death over 11 years ago. At that time, she was taken in and has been raised by the Worthington's. Mr. Worthington is now a senator and Sadie Rose feels the pressure placed on her to behave and act like a well-mannered daughter, although they never have adopted her. When Sadie Rose finds pictures of her mother it unlocks memories she didn't realize she had and helps Sadie find her voice again.

Frozen is a historical fiction YA novel. Casanova does a nice job with the setting and the incorporation of historical and social details of that time. Interestingly, the author, Mary Casanova, wrote the McKenna stories for the American Girls series. Obviously, this helps explain part of the care she has taken with establishing the historical time and place.

The plot itself wobbles a bit. Amid a myriad of social issues, Sadie Rose finds her voice with surprising quickness and ease before she asserts her individuality and sets off in a surprisingly bold, self-assured manner. Beyond Sadie Rose, all the other characters in the novel are not fully realized figures and they end up being reduced to caricatures.

It is written to target 13-17 year old girls, although I would say it hits the mark closer to the younger 13 or 14 year old reader. This age group may accept and appreciate Sadie Rose's sudden transformation to a talkative, adventurous young woman more easily than a more sophisticated teen. Older teens and adults are surely going to feel as I did - Sadie Rose's abrupt transformation and the rapid recovery of her ability to speak, after not speaking for 11 years, was too sudden and came too easily to be believable.

This is a quick read and basically enjoyable. Recommended

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley for review purposes.
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Sadie Rose hasn’t spoken a word for 11 years. When she was 5 years old she went out into the snow to look for her mother, and almost froze to death. With her mother dead, a rich Senator and his wife took her into their home. Read the rest of the review on my blog: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/frozen-mary-casanova/ ( )

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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