I haven’t picked up any John Marsden books since I finished reading the ‘Tomorrow’ series. I was aware he had written other YA books but had just not got around to them. I needed a book with ‘winter’ in the title for a reading challenge and this book fitted the criteria perfectly. The bonus was that I really enjoyed it and was sucked in from the very first page. Winter’s parent’s died when she was four. She always thought they had died together in a yacht race but it turns out that her mother died quite a few months later at their property Warriewood. Winter is now 16 and she has returned to the property to find that it is utterly run down and in the house the furniture is all gone. The property has caretakers who are being paid for out of Winter’s trust fund so Winter is angry to find out that they have not been taking care of the house and property. She is also angry at her aunt’s refusal to talk to her. Winter is an edgy but strong character; she is blunt, rude and totally focussed on finding out the truth. She has questions about her mother’s death and now has questions about her caretakers and aunt. The end throws a curveball that I was half expecting but not really thinking that it would turn out like that. WINTER is a short book so a quick read. The story is believable and also enjoyable because there is plenty of humour amongst the drama. I really liked Winter as a character and found that I empathised with her search for truth, and as with many of Marsden’s books it leaves you thinking “What would I do in the same situation?”
I’ve had Winter sitting on my bookshelves for years. I finally picked it up because I was doing a read-a-thon here on Goodreads and needed a book with a one-word title to complete my team’s mini-goal. As it was the last day by then, I naturally selected the shortest one, which brings us back to Winter.It’s always fascinated me how well John Marsden can write the characters of teenage girls, considering he’s a 62-year-old man. Somehow he manages to pull it off flawlessly though, and his main character, Winter, feels just like a teenage girl should. I don’t think I could do the job half as well, and I’m a female who just turned twenty.Winter is looking for answers and acceptance regarding the deaths of her parents twelve years ago. To do this she returns to her childhood home and grows into the role required of her. A lot of the things she does are quite stubborn and immature, but that’s to be expected for a girl of her age. In any case the journey she goes on brings her out the other end as a wiser, stronger person on the road to adulthood. It was only quite a short book, as I said, but if it had have been any longer it would have involved unnecessarily dragging the story on. That’s another skill John Marsden has: he seems to be able to pinpoint when his stories need to end quite well.
I chose to read this one as it was on the shelf in my library and, as it starred a 16-year old girl, I wanted to make sure that it was appropriate for primary aged children. In the end I am satisfied for grade 5/6 students to read this one. There is one 's' word dropped near the beginning, but other than that the story itself is quite harmless.The book is short and to the point. There are some nice descriptions of the Australian countryside, but nothing in this book is done in great detail. I would've liked more closure at the end, what happened to the dodgy couple running the farm, how did the new college work out and how things progressed with Matthew. It was all glossed over rather quickly. But then, by the size of the book I didn't really expect anything else. It was an enjoyable read with a bit of a mystery running through as Winter searches for the real reason for her parents' deaths. The answer at the end is not shocking nor surprising. But then I'm not sure that it was meant to be.A good story, but better suited to older readers.
—Gaby
Good, but not great. This is a very short story. It should take about two hours to read, except it took me longer. A book could have the best story ever written but if I don't like the protagonist there is going to be some problems. Winter annoyed the hell out of me. I've seen ten year old's mature than her. Almost every conversation she had with everyone ended up with a temper tantrum. Towards the end her character improved, which was a sigh of relief. Not much to say. It felt rushed, and the ending was predictable.
—The Shutterbug
Winter is a feisty 16 year old who has been living with elderly relatives since she lost her parents at the age of 4. Now she has decided the time has come for her to return to the family homestead and take charge of her life. When she goes to visit her parents graves she discovers that her mother died some six months after her father and there is a mystery surrounding the way in which she died.I enjoyed this short novel about a teenage girl discovering who she is and taking control of her life. Winter is a strong character and the author does a great job getting into the head of a teenage girl who is both fearless but vulnerable.
—Carolyn
