Winter's End

by Jean-Claude Mourlevat

Hardcover, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

843.92

Genres

Young Adult

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

Candlewick (2009), Hardcover, 432 pages

Description

Fleeing across icy mountains from a pack of terrifying dog-men sent to hunt them down, four teenagers escape from their prison-like boarding schools to take up the fight against the tyrannical government that murdered their parents fifteen years earlier.

Media reviews

LibraryThing

I thought this book was good. It kept you on the edge on wanting to read more. Beautifully written.

User reviews

LibraryThing member SonicQuack

Winter Song is an attempt at an fantasy epic, discarding the high fantasy setting, and using an original scenario. The thought process is not at fault, it's the style of writing employed to deliver the story which lets Winter Song down. Creativity is subdued by disengaging narrative and emotionally

charged scenes fall flat. The action scenes are well described though, and although there are very few, they carry the book. The endgame is rather piecemeal too, almost rushed, which is odd since the book is quite laborious at times. It's an unremarkable fantasy entry, with unremarkable characters; too long for younger readers, and not engaging enough for adults.

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LibraryThing member bgknighton

A young adult level reading book; whether it was meant to be or this is a result of the translation, I can't tell. Overall an enjoyable read. The main characters are well-developed and believable. The bad guys are left disappointingly one-dimensional. Flows nicely, has a very touching ending, not

too many suprises. Overall, nice but not too complicated.

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LibraryThing member CeridwynR

It's interesting reading books in translation. This was translated by the same woman who translated Cornelia Funke's work and the fit didn't feel as good. Anthea Bell has a particular voice and it didn't flow for me in this story, mostly I think because there were three protagonists and they had

exactly the same voice.Also the world didn't quite ring true, it wasn't specific enough in some areas and too specific in others. I couldn't latch onto the feel of the politics enough to understand WHY things were happening, rather than being told about the themes and issues. It just wasn't visceral enough; for something that felt like a visceral story I was always at a remove. Also, what is it about sixteen year olds in love that puts my back up so much? Particularly in this book the love stories felt imposed rather than natural.

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LibraryThing member CeridwynR

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LibraryThing member TheTrueBookAddict

This is a dystopian YA book. It is a tale of a suppressed society where the children of a resistance movement have been kept in boarding schools that are not much better than prisons after their parents are dispatched. At the heart of the story is the suppression of arts and freedom. It takes the

daughter and son of the resistance movement's most beloved figures to start the movement in motion once again. The scenario in this book is something that could happen in any nation where censorship is allowed to flourish because censorship of the arts is ultimately at the heart of this story. Anyone who enjoys reading books about a suppressive society being overcome by freedom fighters would enjoy this book. An exciting read containing inspiration and the triumph of the human spirit.

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LibraryThing member dferb

Helen and Milena are students at the girls’ school, Milos and Bartolomeo go to the boys’ school across town. Both schools are oppressively strict. Students are allowed off campus rarely, only when accompanied by another student, and must return to campus on time or a third student is punished.

When Milena and Bartolomeo disappear one night, shy and quiet Catharina is thrown in the “Sky” – a dungeon like cell, and the dog-men are sent out after the missing teens. At this point, the reader is certain this is not your typical story about an overly strict boarding school.
This is a thrilling story of survival in a world gone wrong. As bits and pieces are revealed, the reader learns about this new society, genetic engineered beings, and the Resistance forces plotting to overthrow the oppressive government. The story is translated from the French, and retains all of the suspense and surprises. There are several unexpected twists, an interesting cover, and a title with a double meaning. Should interest teens looking for something like Hunger Games.

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LibraryThing member callmecayce

Translated from French, Winter's End is a strange, complex novel about teens who are trying to save their world. It's a world similar to our own, but at the same time very, very different. The teens are students who escape from their school in order to figure out what's really going on in their

world. It's something of an adventure, though things don't turn out how they expect, at all.

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LibraryThing member jasmyn9

Several years ago there was a political coup and the Phalangist took over. A group of children were sent off to incredibly strict boarding school so the government could keep an eye on them. Four of these children have managed to escape their boarding schools and are making a run to join the new

revolution to overthrow the Phalange.

These four children each have their own role to play as they find out more of their past, their parents, and why they have been locked up at school for so long. A very interesting look at the world, but the characters were a little stagnant. They did adapt and learn new things, but it always seemed to be with the same attitude.

3/5

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LibraryThing member ardnassac

Winter's end is a moving story of kids fighting to survive. I would recommend it to anyone.

LibraryThing member peptastic

It started out promising enough but Winter's End ultimately did not deliver. Winter's End is about an oppressive government called the Phalangists. The boarding schools the four leads are in are very strict and cruel. This was where the book could have gotten away with not explaining enough how the

Phalangists operated. The school discourages talking and the students are formed in solidarity not to turn on each other. No one in the community interacted with them and news of the real world was kept from them. They had three outside appointments a year to see a consolor. Helen is depressed and has an attachment to hers so she takes Milena along with her.Milena meets a cute boy named Bart and they run away together.The school has a system that if a student doesn't return then another child takes their place "in the sky". The sky is a dark dungeon.This system works because the students have a system that no one turns on the other. I expected more consequences to result from Milena and Bart taking off as two other students were locked in dark dungeons in their place.Bart felt some guilt but Milena had a birth right of being fawned over and had beautiful blond hair. She was underwritten to the say the least. Her mom was a singer for the resistance movement so naturally once people heard her sing then everyone would rebel against the government.Why on earth do people today pick presidential candidates on actors ["Oooh Tyra Banks likes this guy so I will too."] and why was her mom that influential? That still didn't make sense people would rebel because she sang. The few glimpses of the town seemed like DDR Germany. The secret police hid behind newspapers and everyone told on each other.You would think Milena abandonment that resulted in Catharina being imprisoned might have set off a chain reaction. Why didn't these kids work the systems too? There parents were all resistance movement people but surely Totalitarianism isn't inherited?We didn't get enough of the outside world to explain the rebellion. This wasn't The Hunger Games. I often found myself at times wishing it was. There were many ways it could have gone on to be interesting but then didn't happen. I kept waiting for Helen to do something other than pine for Milos or follow Milena around. They left her behind twice. Milena and Bart live happily ever after cause their parents were comely and talented. Helen never learned her precious Paula, a counselor called consoler wasn't that great. She earned her living off comforting the abused children but admitted to liking the system because she had a place in it. I skipped the Milos scenes where he battled in the arena. His story wasn't very compelling.I wish we'd have learned more about the other kids who escaped the school after they did it.The bottom line is the resistance was weak like the fake French resistance so popular in films and a.. err.. *quiet voice* Sweet Valley Twin book I read as a kid.

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LibraryThing member electrascaife

Dystopian YA in which the children of the leaders of the past revolution are kept in prison-like boarding schools. Some escape and aid in the overthrow of the evil regime.
Meh. It's not bad, but it also doesn't add much to the genre, and the story could have been fleshed out a bunch more.

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