The Snow Child Audiobook By Eowyn Ivey cover art

The Snow Child

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Snow Child

By: Eowyn Ivey
Narrated by: Therese Plummer
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.83

Buy for $21.83

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart - he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone - but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

©2012 Eowyn Ivey (P)2018 Hachette Audio
Fairy Tales Family Life Fantasy Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Metaphysical & Visionary Feel-Good Heartfelt
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"The Snow Child is enchanting from beginning to end. Ivey breathes life into an old tale and makes it as fresh as the season' s first snow. Simply lovely." (Keith Donohue, New York Times best-selling author of The Stolen Child)

"The real magic of The Snow Child is that it's never as simple as it seems, never moves exactly in the direction you think it must.... Sad as the story often is, with its haunting fairy-tale ending, what I remember best are the scenes of unabashed joy." (Ron Charles, Washington Post)

"Eowyn Ivey's exquisite debut transports the reader away to a world almost out of time, into a fairytale destined to both chill and delight. Her portrayal of an untamed Alaska is so detailed you can feel the snowflakes on your own eyelashes, even as her characters' desperate quest for, and ultimate redemption by, love will warm your heart." (Melanie Benjamin, author of Alice I Have Been)

What listeners say about The Snow Child

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,511
  • 4 Stars
    696
  • 3 Stars
    261
  • 2 Stars
    62
  • 1 Stars
    24
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,736
  • 4 Stars
    405
  • 3 Stars
    124
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,337
  • 4 Stars
    615
  • 3 Stars
    247
  • 2 Stars
    65
  • 1 Stars
    26

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fairy Tale or Reality? I'm Still Not Sure

Beautifully written (and read), well paced, endearing characters and story. The blurring of lines between fairy tale and reality is well done. I found Jack to be a bit irritating at times, in his refusal to allow Mabel to help with the homestead. Then I remembered the time in which it is placed and it made more sense, but still -- they agreed to homestead together, he could have let her help more. A minor complaint, though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Could have been so much better

I wanted to like this book. I was excited for scenes of the Alaskan wilderness and to get to know the snow child more. But the whole book felt very mundane and the climax/resolution left so much to be desired. The ending was skimmed over so fast I didn’t believe the book had ended. No depth into the characters thoughts and reactions to everything, especially Mabel, who I thought at least would have some touching inner monologue. It wasn’t horrible, I just thought it had so much more potential.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story even better narrator

Unlike some other listeners, it took me several chapters to become engrossed in this story. After that though it was hard to put down. The author did a beautiful job building the characters. It is a magical story with many ups and downs.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Rich, lustrous text and narration

Loved the story, loved the narrator, and really enjoyed the rich and fullness of the author's descriptive imagery.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Was everything the other positive reviews said...

Good stuff. I was sucked into the story and couldn't wait to return repeatedly to hear it in the midst of a busy week.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mesmerizing

A beautiful story that keeps you guessing. The description of the scenery and homesteading life is spellbinding.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing story!

This story tugged at my heart! I didn't want it to end! Survival, commitment, love, and hope!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sometimes you just need a good Fairytale.

I loved listening to the book. The narration was beautifully read, and the story transports you to another time and place.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Alaska love story

Skillfully written weaving Alaskan wilderness, survival and romance with a Russian fairy tale. Loved it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Transported to Alaska

Great story with awesome narration. I was frequently transported to the cold cabin in Alaska

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!