The Taste of Snow
Stephen V. Masse

Free Press
October 2011 / ISBN: 0979963818
Preteen
Amazon

Reviewed by Willie Elliott

Stephen V. Masse has written and released a delightful book about Christmas in The Taste of Snow. The book should be a hit with the preteen audience this holiday season and seasons to come.

The book deals with a magic cane, and it is magical—only it is the kind of magic that occurs every day in our lives and we fail to see.

The shopkeeper, Boznik, gives Nicole a magic cane and it has wonderful effects making the world more colorful, more delicious and alas more dangerous. We follow Nicole as her life seems to fall apart.

While the plot moves along and is a good read, one of the strong points of the book is the descriptions and information about the Alpine region of Austria, especially the smaller village of Gartendorf and the bigger city of Innsbruck. The reader will know what the Christmas season is like in this part of the world and meet a family that performs many of the customs of that region. The reader will realize, as Nicole did, that magic comes in many forms.

At first the ending may seem to be a little contrived, but considering the audience, it will fly.

The author includes an essay on how the story came about and attaches several recipes for cookies, hot chocolate and Kiachi (a cross between fried dough and a doughnut).