This first of a trilogy was written almost 20 years ago, about events leading up to WW II, and somehow it shows its age while remaining an enjoyable read, especially if you love books about island life. Snow Island is offshore from Bristol, RI, and only a few people are year-rounders. When Alice's father, a quahogger, drowns at sea, the community sets up her mother as the proprietor of the island store and the postmistress. Her mother is portrayed as a weak and silly woman, without the urgency to care for her family, and Alice, even before graduating from high school in a class of three, has to be the adult. She becomes involved with three island men, but the loneliness of Snow Island and its few inhabitants, and the perpetual snobbery of the wealthy summer folk, lack drama. Still, one must read on and find out how it all turns out. ( )

An interesting read about life on a small island during WWII. The characters are all really well written and I definitely got a sense of life on Snow Island. It was interesting to see how drastically life changed after Pearl Harbor. There is a true sense of place in this novel. Even while people are away, the island is always in the back of their minds. ( )

Alice Daggett lives on Snow Island with her mother and younger brother. Since her father's death five years ago, 16-year-old Alice has helped her mother run the island's small store.

George Tibbits grew up on Snow Island in the well-known "twin houses" with his two aunts. Years earlier, he left to serve in the army and returned to the island in 1919 to find both the women who cared for him dead in their respective homes. Now, he returns to the island every summer in an effort to reconcile their deaths.

Snow Island is a quiet novel that unfolds during three summers on the fictional island in the early 1940s. As the United States is pulled into World War II, the islanders are affected by the conflict in ways they never could have expected, and George and Alice learn hard lessons about love and life during a tumultuous time in history.

This simple novel was beautifully written. The romantic island setting provides the perfect backdrop for the despondent characters as they sort through their relationships with one another and watch as the war changes life on the island. An irresistible melancholy permeates this novel and it's characters have stayed with me even after finishing the book. Snow Island is the first of a trilogy about the island (although Towler is still writing the third book) and after finishing it, I will definitely seek out the next book, Evening Ferry, to find out what happens to Alice and George and their island life. ( )

I have the next book in this series sitting here and I'm hoping, somehow, that there is more about the characters in this book in it.
It was tough reading in odd ways, war and the related circumstances from the view of an island of relatively isolated people. Events seemed to just keep dropping into the mix before the characters could finish with them--just like real life. I "enjoyed" reading it but I'm torn over my reactions to the complexities---there wasn't enough time in my head to react to one before another one hit. ( )

Debut Author - Excellent book ( )