After the Snow by S.D. Crockett Review

"Fifteen-year-old Willo was out hunting when the trucks came and took his family away. Left alone in the snow, Willo becomes determined to find and rescue his family, and he knows just who to talk with to learn where they are. He plans to head across the mountains and make Farmer Geraint tell him where his family has gone. 

But on the way across the mountain, he finds Mary, a refugee from the city, whose father is lost and who is starving to death. The smart thing to do would be to leave her alone -- he doesn't have enough supplies for two or the time to take care of a girl -- but Willo just can't do it. However, with the world trapped in an ice age, the odds of them surviving on their own are not good. And even if he does manage to keep Mary safe, what about finding his family?"

 Honestly I am very disappointed with this book. I expected an awestruck, rush-hour-like, violent, and fast book. Instead I receive a slow (for many parts of the book), boring, dull, and dry book.

*Yawn*

For many parts of After the Snow, Willo was just sitting around, hiding, and listening. (more yawns). There was little violence and not very much of a fast-paced book.

The biggest annoying thing is that Mary, the girl of After the Snow, was not in many of the scenes. Seriously. I expected Mary to be a much more dramatic and exciting character. Instead, she rarely appears and when she does, she plays a little six year old who is scared out of her wits and crying for her father the ponyman. Not a particular fascinating character. 

The second biggest thing is that Willo is just... slow. Slow. I wished he would just get things. Understand. But he is such a little boy. Definitely not a fifteen year old. Willo should be more hunterish and more willing to be careful like a hunter trying to find its prey. Nahhh! He is careless. Reckless, sometimes. Willo spends a major amount of time (most of wintertime) stitching up some coats for a beautiful lady (who is also a prostitute). 

The third... Well, I didn't like the twist at all. Or any of the characters. Especially Willo's father. I was irritated by all these references to Willo's father John Blake. All these ideas that were drilled in by John Blake were interesting, yes, but then it gets repeated over and over and over again. Get the picture? Annoying.

The death. From a harsh world with hungry, cold, and evil-hearted people, I expected a whole lot more death. Let me see. How many people die? There's the little boy. And another person, I believe. The hunter. The prostitute. John Blake. Magda. Some other people. But I thought that there wasn't enough deaths. (Sorry for those sensitive people out there.)

The twist about John Blake. (I have to mention this twice to emphasize on how much I don't like the twist). 

The parts of the book I love...

The dialects. Willo speaks in a way that suggests he hasn't been to a school or learn proper grammar. It makes the story a little more realistic  I would have liked it even more if the author enlisted/created new words because as time goes on, new words are created and old words discarded. I doubt some of the words the author uses will even be said in the future. 

The traitor in the mist... Yeah, traitor. I was delighted when I discovered the new twist. I was so giddy and curious on what will happen to the traitor, the prisoners, and our main character, Willo. Good job, Mr. Crockett (like Davy Crockett?). I totally love that twist. Unlike the one with John Blake (yes, again). The traitor was fascinating. I love how the traitor open himself up, shined a little light into his POV. 

This book's rating is a two out of five. Not enough action to satisfy me. (Got Elvis in my head.)