Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
No sugar plum fairies in fevered, violent Nutcracker tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Growing up as the daughter of a gang lord who's currently the mayor of 1899 New York, 17-year-old Clara Stole finds life even harder after her beloved mother's brutal murder. Now her father's always drunk, his criminal overlords are out for blood, and a sadistic doctor who tortures hapless orphan girls in fiendish experiments pursues Clara with creepy lust and threatens her little sister. But thanks to her mysterious godfather Drosselmeyer, who's taught her skills -- from lurking in the shadows to hand-to-hand combat -- Clara's not entirely without resources. When otherworldly forces snatch her soused father away in the middle of his Christmas party, Clara soon follows and finds herself on a quest to save him, with the uncertain help of Nicholas, the exiled prince who, until recently, had been a statue in Drosselmeyer's shop. Many of the resulting challenges involve bedroom scenes, prostitution, nudity, and parading about in skimpy clothing amid steamy Victorian laments about the shame of it all.
Is It Any Good?
For readers who aren't fans of magic-and-violence-infused bodice-rippers, WINTERSPELL will probably collapse under the sheer weight of its ponderously overwrought prose. Here's a sampling: "Wicked images overtook her thoughts. It was as though her new clothes, the air upon skin so unaccustomed to it, the knowledge of where Afa had been and what she might have been doing, and the close press of Nicholas against her thigh -- this entire monstrously unfamiliar experience -- was spinning her out of control. And she had to be in control, for her own sake, for her family's. She had to clamp down on her wandering thoughts, this salacious curiosity, the new pulse of her blood that seemed horribly synchronous with the pounding music upstairs." The plot seems mostly contrived to raise the specter of sexual violence and get the protagonist into bed with male and female characters, as well as into various states of undress -- all in the name of saving the world.
For genre fans, though, this over-the-top stuff is all part of the fun, and Winterspell offers an imaginative diversion.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why stories of inter-world romance -- and the cosmic conflicts that seem to follow -- are so popular. What's the appeal? What do you think drives teen girls in particular to fall in love with mysterious guys from other worlds?
How difficult would you find it to go about your daily activities in Victorian clothing? What would be the most annoying problem? Do you see any upsides?
There seems to be quite a gap between the lives of rich and poor people in 19th century New York, as well as in the land of Cane. How do you think this compares with today's reality?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Book Characters , Family Stories ( Siblings )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : September 30, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
- Number of pages : 464
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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