Snow Spider (by Jenny Nimmo)

What is magic about these objects? Why does the wind want them? How does the magic work? What happened to Gwyn's sister, why does she come back, why is she changed, why don't her parents seem to mind, why does she have to return again? What is the deal with the supposed evil power, and how does Gwyn know how to trap it? And on and on. This story is pleasant enough while you're reading it, but deeply unsatisfying by the end. Perhaps the sequels explain some of this, but it's all so nonsensical that it's hard to muster up the will to care. This reads like sloppy, tossed-off work from an author who should know better.