Snow

In the near-deserted kingdom of Mistmir, Princess Karina spends her time digging through the all-encompassing snow searching for a way to restore her homeland. Then someone stumbles through the Boundary Mists and changes everything. The stranger, 12-year-old Ela, is from Earth, which exists in a realm parallel to Mistmir. She knows Karina as the protagonist from a book of stories her mother reads to her at night. Ela travels with Karina back to the castle, avoiding the deadly mechanical Hounds that prowl the landscape. The girls’ unexpected connection—and the realization that Ela holds the key to saving Mistmir—leads to one final, climactic attempt to break the kingdom’s curse and take control of their own destinies. Trehan (The View from the Very Best House in Town) utilizes a quiet, dreamlike tone, lending to the retold fairy tale ambiance of the novel as the kingdom’s tragic history unfolds in flashbacks and tales from Ela’s storybook. Past and present and magic and science blend together in an introspective manner that assists in the gradual peeling back of this story’s many layers to reveal its secrets. Characters appear on the cover with brown skin. Ages 8–12. Agent: Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency. (Jan.)