Burnt Snow: The Book of the Witch I by Van Badham (YA)
Yet again, sixteen year old Sophie Morgan finds herself the new girl. This time she’s landed at Yarrindi, a small coastal town south of Sydney. When Yarrindi High’s popular girls invite her into their clique, the chance to remake her image is too good to pass up. Shaking free of her mother’s overprotectiveness, Sophie plunges into the swirling morass of high school. What does Goth girl Ashley hold against her? Why does bad boy loner Brodie Meine have to be so irresistible? And is she safe from betrayal within the in-crowd itself? With Lauren, the sarcastic nerd best friend she left behind in Baulkham Hills her only anchor, Sophie struggles to find herself. Then her Finnish grandmother is felled by an enormous crow, and Sophie uncovers the disturbing secret of her place in the world.
Van Badham’s debut novel is a fantastic read. The characters are identifiable without being stereotypes. Older teens will recognise themselves and their friends in the kids of Yarrindi, as well as their confusions and discoveries. The occult elements are deftly realised and fit seamlessly into the quotidian world. There is sex and violence, and some genuinely scary moments. Badham beautifully sets up the rhythm between the daily grind of school and home, and captures the thrills of attraction, betrayal, ghastly visitations and self-discovery.
As the book thundered toward its exciting finale, this reader started to panic. Van! Van! There aren’t enough pages left to bring this to a calm resolution! And indeed this talented writer stops short at just the right moment, to leave her readers panting for Book 2, White Rain. Write faster, Van, I’m begging you.
(reviewed as part of the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2012)
