Winter's End - Hardcover

Mourlevat, Jean-Claude

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763644501 ISBN 13: 9780763644505

Publisher: Candlewick, 2009

Synopsis

In a gripping dystopian novel, four teenagers risk impossible odds to fight against tyranny in a world of dangerous choices — and reemerging hope.

Escape. Milena, Bartolomeo, Helen, and Milos have left their prison-like boarding schools far behind, but their futures remain in peril. Fleeing across icy mountains from a terrifying pack of dog-men sent to hunt them down, they are determined to take up the fight against the despotic government that murdered their parents years before. Only three will make it safely to the secret headquarters of the resistance movement. The fourth is captured and forced to participate in a barbaric game for the amusement of the masses — further proof of the government’s horrible brutality. Will the power of one voice be enough to rouse a people against a generation of cruelty? Translated from the French, this suspenseful story of courage, individualism, and freedom has resonated with young readers across the globe.

About this title

About the Author

Jean-Claude Mourlevat once wrote and directed burlesque shows for adults and children, which were performed for more than ten years in France and elsewhere. The author of several children’s books, he lives in a house overhanging the River Loire, near Saint-Etienne, France.

Anthea Bell is an award-winning translator of French and German fiction, including the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke. She lives near Cambridge, England.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—In a dystopian world, an oppressive revolutionary group has taken over. Four teenagers escape the "boarding school" where they have been held since their parents were murdered 15 years earlier for being part of the Resistance. Milena and Bartolomeo become romantically involved and run away together, as do Helen and Milos, separate from the other two. Ultimately, Helen, Milena, and Bartolomeo are reunited in the capital city where they find work at a restaurant doubling as a front for the Resistance movement. However, Milos is imprisoned and sent to a training camp from which he will be forced to compete in one-on-one, barbaric arena fights to the death. As a translation from the French, this book is successful, with only occasional minor awkward moments that do not detract from the story's compelling setting, mood, and tone. Most characters are adequately drawn but some disappear and never return. For example, fierce dog-men are carefully introduced, kill a man, run off to the mountains, and vanish. Also, a few circumstances stretch belief, such as the teens riding buses without being recaptured. Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games (2008) and Catching Fire (2009, both Scholastic) and John Marsden's "Tomorrow" series (Houghton) are stronger books.—Diane P. Tuccillo, Poudre River Public Library District, Fort Collins, CO
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About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0763644501
• ISBN 13: 9780763644505
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432