cover image Winterkill

Winterkill

Kate A. Boorman. Abrams/Amulet, $17.95 (336p) ISBN 978-1-4197-1235-7

Boorman’s atmospheric, slow-building debut takes on the communal, can-do myth of the Western frontier. In Emmeline’s world, settlers huddle fearfully within their stockade, dreading winter and the predation of the malmaci, a faceless terror that wiped out most humans in the region generations ago. Survival depends on obedience to the ruling Council and the practice of three virtues: Honesty, Bravery, and Discovery. “Waywardness” is punishable by death. That was the fate of Emmeline’s grandmother, and Emmeline still bears the stigma. Emmeline has long since learned that her yearning for Discovery puts her in grave danger of disobedience, but she cannot ignore the urgent dreams that whisper “Find us”—find the Lost People most believe were destroyed by the malmaci. Boorman’s great strength is using qualities common to teenagers—inexperience, idealism, restlessness, insecurity—to realistically shape Emmeline’s behavior. Much of what Emmeline does is well meaning but ill-judged, and her short-term planning brings about consequences she never imagined. Boorman’s frontier may be the stuff of myth, but her protagonist speaks directly and powerfully to a young adult experience. Ages 12–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. (Sept.)