Margaret BuffieCritiques

This ghostly story captivated my young mind when I was only 9. It has held a special place in my heart since. The Dark Garden's Gothic tones with allusions to a modern Romeo-Juliet story and paranormal overtures are beautifully sad. It's one of the few books I can keep re-reading and never grow bored or distant from the emotion Buffie writes. It's a great read for young and old, especially those who love ghost stories.

The Haunting of Frances Rain is a story about troubled families. Our 15 1/2-year-old Canadian heroine, Elizabeth 'Lizzie' McGill, has always looked forward to spending summers with her beloved Gran, her mother's mother. The old cabin on the shores of Rain Lake has been her haven. Not this year -- instead of being put on a bus with her older brother, Evan, and her younger sister, Erica, their stepfather is driving the family to Gran's.

The McGill children suffer from having two self-centered parents, who are also both lawyers. Their father walked out two years ago. Three months ago, their mother married a bear of a man, a talented and successful potter with teeth the size of sugar cubes (Lizzie thinks of him as 'Toothy Tim'). I never had a stepparent, but I don't think my late mother was a good one to my older half-siblings. Tim is such a nice man I don't know what he sees in Connie. I wanted to drag her off to counseling for the appalling way she broke the news she was getting married again to her children (see chapter 2).

Carl McGill left not long before Erica started first grade, and she eats too much when there's tension in the family. She's chubby. Evan is obviously his mother's favorite. That's not just the way Lizzie sees it. Sure, Evan is brilliant -- he's skipped enough grades to be going to college already -- but he's an obnoxious jerk. Part of that is because their dad walked out. It doesn't help that he's four inches shorter than Lizzie, who already is only two inches shorter than their six-foot Gran. The only thing that unites these older siblings is being unpleasant to Tim. That's even though Lizzie has more of a life now that she no longer has to get dinner, do the housework, and mind Erica.

From my adult perspective, Tim is a godsend to his stepchildren: he cooks, cleans, and makes time for little Erica without giving up his pottery. Thanks to Carl and Connie, though, they might be losing Tim.

Lizzie decides to make uninhabited Rain Island her refuge from her family. There is where she finds the spectacles (glasses) that enable her to see the island's ghosts. One of them is the mysterious Frances Rain, a woman who died over sixty years ago. Lizzie is afraid to talk about her experiences, especially after the reaction Tim gets when he mentions what he saw to Lizzie, Evan, and local friend Alex Bird.

Lizzie becomes very interested in the lives of Frances and a girl who came to stay with her. They certainly get along much better than Lizzie's own family. It takes a couple of crises to get Lizzie focused on the present again. (When Lizzie finally uncovers the Rain Island secret, the ghost she's dubbed 'Toad Man' proves to have been much worse than even Carl or Connie! Society has changed enough that today's teens will have to infer from the text what made Toad Man so upset.)

It's a good ghost story, a good family story, and a nice mystery.

I won this book through early reviewers, and I was very pleased with it.

The mix of historical fiction, time travel, and characters that are easy to relate to make this work a great book for young adult readers everywhere.

I would definitely recommend it.

While Winter Shadows contains elements of stories that I normally adore (young lady protagonist, time travel, diaries, self-discovery) I just couldn't make myself love this book. I liked it fine enough, but it really took a lot of focus for me to pick up the book and keep reading after a few pages. Present-day Cass and 1800's Beatrice had similar life situations, family drama, etcetera, but the timing seemed to be a bit off to me. As an example, Cass would be reading Beatrice's diary entry, and instead of cutting to Beatrice's timeline directly after Cass's reading, it would either be a few days before or after the events we'd just read about. That's just confusing, and it happened all of the time. You can tell that Ms. Buffie certainly did her historical homework as the book is chock-full of Cree language and details, but it felt like an overload of information for me. It's certainly deserving of the awards it's won, but to call this an easy read would be a stretch. 2 stars.½

I have loved this book since I was little...I have had it replaced a few times and recently have wanted to check it out and read it again, after losing my last copy. Sadly to say my local libraries lost the only copy left that was being transferred to a closer one that I had access to. I was also trying to find if a movie has ever been made, if not, I would recommend it. I think it would make a great movie!!!

Winter Shadows contains parallel story lines - one from Beatrice in 1856 and the other from Cass in the present day. Beatrice has returned home to take care of her father and grandfather and finds life with her father's new wife difficult. Cass also has step-monster problems as well as coping with a younger stepsister. The two girls both suffer from episodes of "shadows" in which they can "see" each other across time.

Both plots develop too slowly and, at times, the author seems overtly determined to impart historical detail and Native American language on the reader.

This book shows that step families have been hard for a very long time. The parallel stories of Beatrice in the 1856 and Cass in the present both have a new step mother after their mothers have died and the relationship is not an easy one. I like this time travel/shadow travel/ ghost/spirit story? With a dash of romance. It is kind of hard to categorize.

It is set in Manitoba in 1856 Beatrice is not happy to have come home after being away at school and found her father married to Ivy a sour woman and Aggatha, Beatrice’s Cree grandmother, is not being taken care of, this sets off a chain of events that makes a relationship between Beatrice & Ivy very tense to say the least. Cass’s mother has died and her father has re-married to an unhappy jealous woman named Jean who also has a daughter Daisy who seems to do her best to annoy Cass. Suddenly these two girls’ centuries apart are seeing flashes of each other’s lives and Beatrice’s diary appears to Cass and she reads about Beatrice’s life.

I enjoyed this book and think that a lot of young people will relate to it, because blended families are hard but what I loved about this book was the reveal of the new wives past and what made them react to these girls the way they did and how when they found a happy medium to their feelings, that was when healing starts.

The “romance” between Beatrice & Kilgour was sweet I liked the way she never realized how he felt about her and how she fought her feeling tooth & nail without even realizing what she was doing. I also liked how Daisy & Cass’s relationship grew, these two stories were very true to life about how hard a blended family can be.

I totally see why this book has won awards in Canada and since Winnipeg Manitoba is only a couple hours from where I live it made it even more special. I liked the history of the Cree in this area and how they blended with the new immigrants into a thriving community.

I highly recommend this book.

4 Stars

Full disclosure: I received this book from the Librarything Early Reviewers Program for a unbiased review.

This was a great book! I won it through Early Reviewers and am so glad I did!

I love the mix of historical fiction and time travel. The two main characters were very easy to relate to. I enjoyed how Cas's life and Beatrice's life intertwined. I found myself routing along with Cas for things in Beatrice's life.

I would recommend this book to both young adults and older adults.

Interesting mix of historical fiction and time travel. Cass and Beatrice live in the same house, but 150 years apart. They both have lost their mothers and are struggling to get along with interfering stepmothers. The girls never directly speak with each other, but see ghostly glimpses of each other's timelines and Cass is able to read parts of Beatrice's diary. The two girls connect because of their similar struggles and give each other advice.

The two narratives are well written and both stories are equally engaging. More emotionally driven than action packed and overflowing with family drama. Set in Manitoba and includes a lot of Cree words throughout the story as well as a glossary. Would be a great regional young adult read or for fans of historical fiction with a little bit of a twist.

First I’d like to say that I won a copy of this as a member of the Early Reviewers group on Librarything, in exchange for an impartial review.

This was a heart-wrenching book to read. It was so well-written I could really empathise with the characters. I lost my father early, and I fought tooth and nail against my mother’s husband (notice, even now I can’t call him my step-father) taking the place of my father. I didn’t even want my father’s twin to take his place (even though in his own way he did, and did very well!). I felt Cass’ grief for her mother, the guilt that she carried, and the animosity towards her step-mother. On the other hand, the author starts to show the little ways in which Cass’ step-mother really is trying, and failing horribly most times, to mend their relationship.

And then you’ve got Beatice’s story overlapping Cass’. How horrible it must have been to face such racism and ignorance, and have to continue day after day with your head held high. The author did a very good job of melding two unique stories into one.

The part I liked the most was my own love of genealogy. I would love to meet some of my female ancestors! Phoebe Newton, if you’re out there and you can contact me (even though you were born in the 1770s), I would love to know your story! *big grin*

This novel swaps back and forth between a present day character and a character from the 1850s, who live in the same house. The character in the past, Beatrice, tells her story through the framing device of her journal, while Cass, the modern day character, is the traditional first person narrator.

While I don't consider myself the target audience for this novel, I still was able to enjoy and be immersed in the story. The characters were, for the most part, well developed and complex, reading like real people with emotional connections to the events around them.

I say "for the most part" because both had emotional hair-trigger moments or seeming (to me) gaps where they reacted in a predictable but frustrating manner. To specify, Cass seemed to me to be over-characterized as a snappy teenager at times to the point of flirting with becoming more of a caricature when she would be set off by a small event or comment. I understand that she is easily upset by events in her life that are still raw, but rather than emphasizing what was upsetting about the words or actions of another character, as a reader, we were mostly told that it was offensive by Cass's outward reaction. That said, it is a difficulty of the first-person narrator, and still worked. That is, as a reader, I was able to see clearly that while Cass was overreacting and lashing out, what set her off was similarly unacceptable.

Similarly, Beatrice's blind-spots to emotions and people was frustrating at times, but simultaneously realistic. Her blind-spots were emphasized and, at the same time, almost justified, when Cass expressed her own frustration about Beatrice missing something the reader sees as obvious. In those instances, the irony is quite superb.

In the end, I truly enjoyed this book. It's not something I normally would have picked up, but I'm glad I got a chance to read and review it. I plan on passing it on to my mother-in-law, because I know she will love it.

Winter Shadows is an interesting novel that is told from two different point of views. The first belongs to Cass, a young girl who can't get over her mother's death. Now that her father has remarried, life can't get any more complicated. Her step mother and has taken over the house and seems to be "erasing" the memory of her mother, while her spoil and bratty step sister enjoys getting her into trouble. It's these changes in her life that drive Cass up the wall. She hates the idea of "letting go" of her mother. How can she let go of the one person who understood her?

Aside from memories, the only piece that she has left of her mother is a star shaped brooch. It is this item that opens a window to the past for Cass and connects her to her ancestors. Through visions and an old diary, she is able to look back upon the events that occurred in her home, so many years ago. It is this sub plot that leads to the 2nd point of view in this book.

The second voice belongs to Beatrice, a young girl of Irish/Indian descent who lived in Cass's house many years ago. Like Cass, Beatrice has lost her mother and is trying to deal with changes in her life, such as her father's remarriage. During the era that Beatrice lives in, she must deal with the "expectations" that are expected of young ladies, such as marriage, knowing your place, and keeping quiet. It's a challenge for Beatrice, being that she's open minded and head strong.

I sometimes don't like to read stories that are told in two different point of views, because I feel that if not executed well then the story doesn't turn out good. In the case with Winter Shadows, the different point of views made the story quite enjoyable because each voice was UNIQUE. There was no trouble trying to figure out who's POV you were reading from nor did it disrupt the flow on the story. Although Cass was the character in the modern setting, I really preferred to read from Beatrice's POV. I can't recall reading about a character who was of Irish/Indian descent. That unique trait in Beatrice made it enjoyable to read from her POV.

This makes for a good read during the Holiday season!

Bernie comes to grip with her mothers past, forgives, and moves on in this beautiful book.

While it has a promising premise - a contemporary Canadian girl who's grieving her mother and trying to adjust to her new blended family meets a part-Cree girl from the mid-19th century somehow contact each other over time - I'm afraid I couldn't finish it. I couldn't bear Cass' constant sulks and whining, Beatrice's patience, or the awful treatment they get from so many of the supporting characters. I didn't enjoy the writing at all.

I'm glad so many other people have enjoyed it, but scanning and skipping, I couldn't see any reason to finish it. I love YA literature, but this read like my worst memories of school lit from when I was a kid - meant to be good for you instead of deep and joyful. It's a shame, because I would have loved to enjoy a book on these topics! It would have been a natural book to build a unit plan around.

Beautiful cover design, though!

Themes: stepfamilies, grief, romance, race, Christmas
Setting: modern Manitoba, Canada and 1856 Manitoba

Cass is dreading Christmas, her first with her new stepmother and stepsister, and a reminder that her mother is gone for good. School stinks and her father is almost a stranger.

Then she finds a brooch and it seems that she now has a link to the past. She is seeing things that happened in her house 150 years ago.

Beatrice has been away at school and doesn't really know her new stepmother, but she can't wait to get home to her beloved Cree grandmother. She takes a job at the local girls' school and tries to find a way to get along with her stepmother. She's also torn between her possible romance with the new preacher in town and her infuriating new stepbrother.

Cass and Beatrice have their stories wound together and see visions of one another. Now Cass wants to know, who will Beatrice choose? And can her situation help Cass now with her problems?

I liked this story. It might be just a little light, but I liked the characters and the story. I really liked the way the Cree story was woven in. 4 stars.

I adored Winter Shadows. It completely consumed me as I read it. I was so drawn in by both Cass and Beatrice's stories, as I feel they are so relevant to my own life and experiences. Reading their optimistic yet realistic outcomes fills me with hope for the future in my own situation. Neither Cass nor Beatrice are perfect by any means, but they are both such likable, relatable characters- to both each other and the reader.

The parallelism in this story was wonderfully executed and Buffie wove Cass and Beatrice's stories together seamlessly. I found the ending extremely satisfying, with excellent closure for all involved parties. Overall, this is a beautifully crafted book, and I thoroughly enjoyed every page.

I really enjoyed this book. I do not usually read YA but I did this one. It tells a story of ghosts and Christmas what better type of Chirstmas book is there. For the YA's who read this I think they will be able to relate to it well. the author was able to really show the anger and hardships that happens when a parent passes and/or a new parent enters. How working together is important. And what happens when eachother do not look past to see the others point of view. It was good...plus it was a sweet little love story.

Winter Shadows is a great story about girls and stepmothers that parallels two lives separated by generations. Beatrice Alexander has just returned from Canada and finds her father's new wife to be a wedge in her relationship with her father, and finds her grandmother ill due to neglect. She is faced with the decision to stay and care for her grandmother forever, or to marry someone she does not love. Along the way she sees a "ghost girl" named Cass and they become comforts for each other. Cass's mother recently died and Cass is struggling to relate to her father's new wife and her annoying daughter. After seeing Beatrice she becomes even more disconnected from her new family and it is left to one person and a "ghost girl" to bring her back.

Bernice is a sixteen year old girl who has practically been raising her two younger siblings for 4 years. Her mother, Celia, is an alcoholic who leaves for days, sometimes weeks at a time to go drinking. She just canceled her marriage to a very nice man and Bernice is completely outraged. She finds out that her great aunt Charlotte has left Celia a lakehouse in her will, along with $500 every month. She manages to convince her mother to move the family to the lakehouse and start over, even though the place is in really bad shape. The first few days that they spend there are hard because Celia wants nothing to do with the lakehouse and Bernice is trying to hold everything together for her younger brother, who is getting a lot of anxiety. They meet another family - their neighbours - and become friends with them.

The novel is mostly about the mother-daughter relationship between Celia and Bernice, which evolves throughout the story and becomes more than Bernice could've ever hoped for. It is a captivating story that I believe any teenager could love if they are into psychological stories.

Winter Shadows By Margaret Buffie - August 2010 LTER

Is a warm and charming story about two young girls in two different time periods that have similar problems.

Beatrice is a young woman in the mid 1800’s she is an open minded woman that does not agree 100% with the role that her society has cast upon her. She cares for her Grandmother who is of old ages and a father who was injured. She does not get a long with her stepmother and this causes a lot of stress for everyone in the household. To make matters worse Beatrice also suffers of discrimination in her community since she is considered a half breed.

Cass (Cassandra) is a young girl in the modern times who has lost her mother and is now forced to share her room with her step-sister. Her father has re-married and she as well as Beatrice does not get along with her stepmother. She feels ignored, attacked and guilty. She really misses her mother and feels that her father is moving on a little too quickly.

Cass finds refuge when she starts to see things… Somehow she sees Beatrice and comes a cross Beatrice’s diary. Beatrice also sees Cass and both help each other out through out their appearances.

When I first started reading this book it was a little confusing with all of the characters and different time settings. Once all the names of the characters and their proper eras were established in my head it was breeze to read.
I found it very tender that Beatrice and Cass were able to connect through time and give each other strength. This book makes you reflect on your own problems and how sometimes a 3rd person’s point of view helps you see things more clearly. How sometimes our own issues block our view of how we perceive different people and or situations.

I was captivated by Beatrice’s life and wouldn’t have minded a book just on her.½

I tried to like this book. Initially I liked the concept (two girls tied together by similar life experiences 100+ years apart) but when it came to the actual execution, I was left behind. I found the characters completely unlikeable and somewhat stereotypical. The mean step-mom, the spineless dad, the bratty step-sister, the insolent teenager. I disliked them all. I started to read this book three times, thinking I would like them better than before. After deciding for the third time that I didn't care what happened to the characters, I shelved the book.

Connected by family, situation, and location, Cass and Beatrice find and help each other across the space of 150 years. Both girls have lost their mothers, and are struggling with a new stepmother, and the loss of a secure place in the family home. It is the beginning of winter in Canada, a few weeks before Christmas, and the holiday brings troubles to a boil for both girls. Fortunately, Cass and Beatrice both receive support from other family members, from each other across time, and from budding romances. Beatrice has her Cree grandmother and lives during a time of frontier and social integration, and Cass who lives in the present time has her mother's sister nearby. This book is a little predictable but is very enjoyable on many levels particularly for the historical information that is interwoven through the story about the life of the people living in Canada during the 19th century. There are many Cree Indian words sprinkled throughout the book with a glossary at the back. Though it was easy to guess that both of the girls' situations would resolve positively, the story still had enough intrigue that I wanted to know who Beatrice finally marries, and whether life at home improves for sassy Cass.½

This is one of those books that I wanted to read but wasn't dying to do so, so I wasn't sure about putting in my pile for the read-a-thon I participated in. I am really glad I did. I enjoyed it a lot more then I thought I would.

I really liked Cass but I liked Beatrice and her part in the book more. That just might be because I love history. It was such a great story and was very well written. It is a really fast enjoyable read and I think everyone should pick it up to read this winter.

Canadian teen Cass hates her life: her mother died of cancer not long ago, and her dad has already remarried. Her stepmother Jean is an absolute nightmare – she appears determined to banish every reminder of Cass’s mom from the house, and she always seems to blame Cass for everything that goes wrong. In her angry and grieving state, Cass drifts through her life with few friends or interests to cheer her up. Then one day she finds an old brooch and a diary hidden in the walls of her house, and she begins to learn about her ancestor Beatrice. Meanwhile, in the year 1856, Beatrice struggles with her own family problems: she too has a wicked stepmother, and she must also deal with her mixed Scottish and Cree heritage, which sets her apart from the other young women in her community. As Cass and Beatrice lead seemingly parallel lives, they also begin to see each other and even influence each other’s lives. Will each girl find the strength to choose the right path in her life?

This is another book whose premise I liked but whose execution I was less than impressed with. I liked the idea of two young women leading parallel lives in different time periods, so I felt like the story had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, this is one of those books that really suffer for being geared toward a young audience. The chapters generally alternate between Cass and Beatrice, but each chapter is so short that it’s difficult to become absorbed in either girl’s voice or plot. The frequent transitions are jarring, and the plot episodes are generally very choppy. I also thought the “young” focus really harmed the character development. Clearly the reader is supposed to sympathize with the two heroines, but I found Cass completely insufferable. She’s a whiny, bratty teenager who spends all her time selfishly wallowing in grief. Not that the rest of her family is much better, and I certainly didn’t sympathize with the stepmom either, but Cass really rubbed me the wrong way. I feel bad focusing on the negative aspects of the book, and I do think that younger readers might enjoy it. I did like the descriptions of the setting, too – I really got the feeling of an ice-cold Canadian winter. Overall, though, I have to say I was underwhelmed by this book.

Winter Shadows is about two teenage girls, living 150 years apart and connected to each other my means of a diary. Both of them are trying to deal with the loss of their mothers and their fathers' subsequent remarriages.

This was a charming book. I enjoyed reading about the two girls. Both of them are headstrong and difficult, yet sympathetic characters that are trying to work through emotionally painful situations. I really liked the development of all of the characters in the book. They felt believable and the conflict was realistic. The chapters alternate perspectives which moves the plot along, though it did annoy me to switch back sometimes when I wanted to keep reading about one girl - so it was a little bit choppy in that respect.

I found that I enjoyed reading both perspectives pretty equally. I like Victorian novels and thus loved reading about Beatrice. The Victorian Canada setting and people were unique. Cass was a more harsh and outspoken character than Beatrice, so her chapters sort of allow the reader to blow off some steam between the Victorian bits.

It was an enjoyable read, well written with wonderful characters, a great setting, and an interesting plot to which many teens can relate. I would recommend it