Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat - Review

Who and what would you risk to escape a boarding school that feels more like a jail? Could a chance encounter change everything you thought you would or could do? In this harsh dystopian world, four teenagers manage to escape, leaving others to pay for their freedom, with a pack of dog men on their heels. Will they find the resistance movement before they are captured? Can they do more than their parents managed to do 15 years before? Can a beautiful voice ignite a rebellion? Can they really stay one step ahead of the Phalange, who are determined to kill them?

One of them is captured and forced to train and take part in their version of gladiator games. For him the question is whether he can he even survive the training, let alone a fight. And will he ever be reunited with his love

Translated from the French, this is a heart-stopping, all-action tale of adventure and rebellion that takes us from cruel boarding school conditions, through icy rivers and mountains, to the resistance movement just waiting for someone to ignite their passions. It feels very European. Yet with all the hardships they encounter, there remains a streak of romance that lingers and hope that sustains them in their belief that they can succeed where their parents couldn’t. Try this if you are looking for something inventive, adventurous, and just a little different.

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