I finished reading The Snow Child last weekend and I can’t stop thinking about it. I loved this book so much. It was perfectly bittersweet and a great read for cold weather. I felt so immersed in the atmosphere of the Alaskan wilderness. I cared so deeply for the characters and was truly invested in their journey. Definitely one of my favorite books I’ve ever read.

Warning for spoilers:

I was interested in seeing other people’s theories as to why Faina disappears at the end of the book, as it’s left open-ended. I liked how the touch of magic the character seems to possess is really left up to the reader to decide. My theory is that Faina was a normal little girl that froze to death with her father, but was bestowed a second chance at life by some sort of mystical/magical force. Hence her growing and aging like a normal child, but also possessing seemingly magical abilities with her snow-related powers, ability to survive alone in dangerously cold temps/the wilderness, etc. When she gave birth to her baby, she gave up that second-chance life force to him, hence her ultimately melting and returning to the snow (as Mabel always knew she would.)

I look forward to reading any other theories on this - or thoughts on the book in general. :)