BREADCRUMBS by Anne Ursu
Realized that I never blogged this when I read it last year…
Hazel and Jack were once best friends. But one fight changes everything. Hazel knows she is being unreasonable in asking Jack not to spend time with the boys she doesn’t like, even if they are a bit mean to her. But in the heat of the argument, she hurls a snowball at the back of Jack’s head, and he gets a piece of ice lodged in his eye. Although the doctors declare him physically well, the ice changes Jack. First he stops spending time with Hazel. And then he disappears altogether, following a mysterious ice queen into the woods. Now it is up to Hazel to journey through the snow covered forest in search of her friend and forgiveness.
Although heavy on the introspection, this modern retelling of “The Snow Queen” will likely appeal to middle grade fantasy readers, particularly those who enjoy both fairy tales and realistic fiction. (You may be able to market this book by letting kids know it is an adaptation of the same fairytale as Frozen (2013). But of course, the Disney movie is a very, very, very loose adaptation so there are few similarities.)
If you liked Breadcrumbs, you might also like Dreamwood by Heather Mackey.
Susan the Librarian 